Sourdough & Co. is bringing its San Francisco-style bread and sandwich menu to Southlands in Aurora, adding another Colorado outpost to a Front Range footprint that already includes Colorado Springs, Fountain, Greenwood Village, Littleton and Westminster. The new location is set to open at 6295 S Main St, inside the sprawling outdoor shopping center in southeast Aurora, though the company has not announced an opening date.
The Aurora plans were first reported by WhatNow, which noted that Southlands has already listed Sourdough & Co. as coming soon and added the chain to its tenant lineup. The fast-casual concept originated in California and has steadily expanded beyond its original home market, building a growing Colorado presence along the way, according to the outlet's report.
Sourdough & Co. traces its roots to El Dorado Hills, California, where it was founded in 2016 before spreading across Northern California and eventually adopting a nationwide franchising model, according to Sauce Magazine. The chain's signature bread is a San Francisco-style sourdough made without preservatives, per the same WhatNow report, a long-fermentation recipe the company says improves digestibility and produces a distinct tangy flavor, Sauce Magazine reports.
What's on the Menu at the New Aurora Shop
The Southlands location will serve sourdough sandwiches, soups and salads, according to WhatNow's reporting. The sandwich lineup includes French dip, smoked brisket, caprese, chicken cholula and crispy crunchy chicken options, along with ham, roast beef and Italian-style sandwiches. Soups are served by the cup or bowl and can also come in sourdough bread bowls, with New England clam chowder offered daily alongside a rotating soup of the day.
Beyond sandwiches and soups, the menu also includes wraps, flatbreads, sides, cookies and drinks, per WhatNow. Sourdough & Co. offers catering as well as online ordering, pickup and delivery at its existing restaurants, the outlet reports.
A Bigger Bet on the Denver Metro
The Aurora opening is not an isolated move. Sourdough & Co. has also secured a commercial lease at The Shops at Walnut Creek in Westminster, further expanding its Front Range footprint, according to Westwood Financial. That regional push follows a March 2025 franchise development agreement with Nebraska-based Franchise FastLane, which made Sourdough & Co. the first fast-casual concept selected for the firm's portfolio at a time when the chain had grown past 80 locations across seven states, per PRWeb.
That accelerated growth is largely driven by experienced operators. Roughly 97% of Sourdough & Co.'s franchisees are multi-unit owners, according to corporate executive statements reported by Nation's Restaurant News. Following the Franchise FastLane partnership, brand leadership publicly set a target of reaching 700 operating stores nationwide by 2027, Hoodline previously reported.
Southlands' Scale and Ownership
Southlands Town Center spans 1.7 million square feet, making it the largest outdoor retail destination in Colorado, according to M & J Wilkow. The firm and MetLife Investment Management purchased the Southlands development in March 2018 for $141.99 million, per the Colorado Real Estate Journal. That scale fits within a much larger citywide picture: Aurora contains nearly 20 million square feet of total retail space across its urban corridors and regional centers, according to the City of Aurora.
The unit economics behind the expansion are notable for a fast-casual concept. Sourdough & Co. franchise locations generate an average gross annual revenue of $711,000, while initial setup costs range from $330,000 to $589,000, including a $50,000 initial franchise fee, according to Franzy.
Part of a Wider National Push
Aurora is just one stop on a national map for the chain. Sourdough & Co. recently opened its first Miami-area location in Pinecrest, a move Hoodline reported was part of the same national expansion push tied to the chain's franchise performance metrics. The brand also has a planned site expansion in Costa Mesa, California, Hoodline noted in coverage of the closure of Playa Mesa after eight years in that city's retail strip.
Sourdough & Co.'s roots stretch back further in Hoodline's coverage area as well: the chain brought its sandwiches to Sacramento's South Land Park neighborhood back in January 2020, during an earlier phase of its Northern California growth. Whether Aurora shoppers get their own taste of the chain's tangy sourdough sooner rather than later remains to be seen, since no opening date has been announced for the Southlands location.
