Panera Bread, a national chain of bakery-cafes, expects to open a new store in downtown White Plains on Monday. The store will be next to Wal-Mart at One North Broadway. The menu features a variety of freshly baked bread products, including breakfast bagels, muffins, sandwiches and soups served in Sourdough Bread Bowls.

Tasti D-Lite, a frozen dessert chain, is expected to open its first Westchester County store in mid-August at 1282 North Ave. in New Rochelle.

Tasti D-Lite desserts are lower in fat, calories and carbohydrates than ice cream, making the product appealing to health-conscious customers, according to the company. Tasti D-Lite has grown to more than 50 locations and has secured commitments to open over 300 locations in the coming years. Brother and sister-in-law Marc Dolfman and Yael Laifer are the owners of the New Rochelle store.

Fashion retailer H&M opened a new store on Thursday at the Cross County Shopping Center in Yonkers. H&M, a Swedish-based retailer founded in 1947, operates 1,800 stores in 34 countries. The chain offers fashions for women, men, teenagers and children.

Verizon Wireless has expanded its presence in the region by opening a new store inside BJ’s Wholesale Club in Pelham Manor at 820 Pelham Parkway. The store offers wireless phones, devices and accessories from Verizon.

Three new stores selling Verizon Wireless gear recently opened in Westchester County. The stores are Paging Concepts at the Jefferson Valley Mall in Yorktown Heights, Paging Concepts at the Galleria mall in White Plains and United Telecom at 302 Fifth Ave. in Pelham.

Two new stores recently opened at The Westchester mall in White Plains. My Suit Made-To-Measure opened a 3,026 square-foot store that sells men’s custom made suits tailored to the buyer’s measurements and specifications for style and fabric. Swarovski Crystal’s 1,060 square-foot store sells crystal, jewelry, fashion accessories, handbags, watches and other items.

Aeropostale Inc., a retail chain that sells apparel for young women and men, recently opened its first “P.S. from Aeropostale” store at the Palisades Center in West Nyack. The new store concept targets girls and boys from ages 7 to 12. The company added that it plans to open nine additional stores, primarily in the New York metropolitan area, during its current fiscal year.

Rachele Rose Day Spa has opened at 110 S. Central Ave., Hartsdale. The business is run by sisters Rachele Nicoletti and Rosa Calabrese.

Bob’s Discount Furniture is continuing its rapid expansion in the Northeast with a new store in Yonkers that has more than 80 employees.

Grand opening events and promotions for the new store at 2500 Central Park Avenue begin Thursday and continue through the Memorial Day weekend.
 
“We couldn’t be happier about our new Yonkers location and are very appreciative for the warm welcome we’ve received from the community,” said Bob Kaufman, president of Bob’s Discount Furniture.

The company, based in Manchester, Conn., operates 32 stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. The company recently was named “Furniture Retailer of the Year” by Furniture Today, an industry trade publication.
Bob’s Discount Furniture ranked as the 20th largest furniture chain with sales of more than $418 million in 2007, up from its No. 30 ranking the previous year.

The company said that its stores typically combine attractive furniture prices with an entertaining atmosphere that can include video arcades and cafes offering gourmet coffee, fresh baked cookies and candy.

Michaels, the largest arts and crafts specialty retailer, is scheduled to open a new store on May 31 at 840 Pelham Parkway in the Pelham Manor Shopping Plaza. The project features a new store design from Michaels that includes wider aisles, brighter lighting and work spaces for customers to lay out an idea or design before purchasing. The company owns and operates more than 1,000 Michaels stores in 49 states and Canada and 157 Aaron Brothers stores.

Yonkers city officials today welcomed two new businesses in the city’s downtown.
Alberto and SiraLuz Peralta have opened Continental Restaurant II at 104 New Main St. Also open is A&T Nail Salon at 35 Main St., managed by Daniel Lopez.

Verizon Communications Inc. recently opened a store at 66 Main St. in Yonkers. The Verizon store showcases the company’s products and services, including its new FiOS TV and Internet services. Shoppers can also try out FiOS products and order Verizon services. The store will be open Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

HomeGoods, the chain that sells home fashion items, expects to open a store in Greenburgh this fall. The 25,000-square-foot store is currently under construction at Crossroads Shopping Center on Route 119. HomeGoods, founded in 1992, currently operates 289 stores nationally.

Z-Life, Denim Lounge expects to open at Rye Ridge Shopping Center during the spring of 2009. The men’s lifestyle boutique expects to sell clothing, shoes, fragrances and other items.

Nike has opened its newest store at The Westchester mall in White Plains. Nike, based in Beaverton, Oregon, is the world’s leading designer of athletic footwear, apparel and equipment. The store features Nike’s new customization concepts that allow consumers to design and create their own footwear and apparel.

The recent departure of Lubin’s Men’s & Boy’s World and a Chinese restaurant from a White Plains strip mall has resulted in the 6,000-square-foot expansion of Wine Warehouse, according to Goldschmidt & Associates, the agency that negotiated the deal.

In addition, three new tenants, Carpet World, Bushido Karate and Royal Beauty Supply, occupy the remainder of the vacated space in the Loehmann’s Shopping Center on Route 119.

With the expansion and the additions, the strip mall is fully leased, the Scarsdale-based leasing agent said.

Wendy Traskos, president of New York Pole Dancing, said she has opened a studio at 110 Mamaroneck Ave. in White Plains. New York Pole Dancing offers a range of classes, from private sessions to bachelorette parties and booty camps.

KeyBank has opened its latest branch in the Lower Hudson Valley at 420 S. Riverside Ave., Croton-on-Hudson. The 2,400 square-foot branch features 24-hour walk-up ATM, expanded lobby seating, a conference room, and an after-hours depository. Dina Basciano-Vecchione has been named branch manager. Key, which acquired Union State Bank at the beginning of this year, now has 64 branches throughout the region.

Burlington Coat Factory will open a new store in White Plains in the Shoppes on Main retail complex on Aug. 29.

The 82,000-square-foot store at 255 Main St.  will feature women’s and men’s apparel and accessories, kids clothing, shoes and, of course, coats.

The outlet will also have a home décor department selling bedding, home and bath accessories, housewares and gifts.

Burlington Coat Factory, which has 390 stores in 44 states, has one other store in the Lower Hudson Valley — in Yonkers.

(A previous posting on this blog contained incorrect information.)

HomeGoods, the chain that sells home fashion items, will open a store in Nanuet Aug. 24. The 25,000-square-foot store is in the Rockland Plaza on Route 59. The store will be the company’s first in Rockland County. The company said it expects to hire 60 people for full-time and part-time jobs.