Così is an American restaurant chain that primarily offers gourmet

Gourmet

Gourmet is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterised by elaborate preparations and presentations of large meals of small, often quite rich courses...

 sandwich

Sandwich

A sandwich is a food item, typically consisting of two or more slices of :bread with one or more fillings between them, or one slice of bread with a topping or toppings, commonly called an open sandwich. Sandwiches are a widely popular type of lunch food, typically taken to work or school, or...

es and salad

Salad

Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...

s. It was founded in 1996, and there are currently over 144 locations in the continental United States. The original Così restaurant was based on a cafe in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

In October 1999, Così merged with the cafe/bar chain XandO (formerly ZuZu). Così's peak traffic was during the lunch hour, while XandO did heavy business in the evenings, allowing the two companies to complement each other's strengths.

All Così restaurants also feature a full service espresso bar and some serve alcohol

Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...

. They are also well known for serving s'mores as dessert . The name comes from the opera Così fan tutte

Così fan tutte

Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....

, which was a favorite of the original owner. There are more than 144 restaurants in 16 states, the District of Columbia and the United Arab Emirates. In June 2010 Così sold its District of Columbia stores to Capitol C Restaurants who will run them under a franchise agreement. Capitol C is the owner of Qdoba Mexican Grill. The company's headquarters are located in Deerfield, Illinois

Deerfield, Illinois

Deerfield is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States and is located approximately 25 miles north of Chicago, Illinois. A portion of the village is in Cook County, Illinois, United States...

.

Cosi's bread is baked in an open flame oven, in full view of customers.