Westwood welcomed a new type of buzz Saturday: Pret A Manger, a United Kingdom-based coffee shop.

Pret A Manger, commonly referred to as Pret, is a sandwich and organic coffee chain that has a multitude of items on its menu, including varieties of coffee, grab-and-go sandwiches and baked goods – with vegan and vegetarian options. Pret is located on Le Conte Avenue, the chain’s first location in Los Angeles.

Pret will also donate any unsold food at the end of each day to the nonprofit Rescuing Leftover Cuisine via The Pret Foundation, the shop’s global charity that launched in 1995 with the goal of alleviating hunger, poverty and homelessness, according to Pret’s press release on April 26.

The opening is part of a wider plan to bring more shops to Southern California, and Pret has plans to expand into Beverly Hills, Century City, Hollywood and Studio City, according to the press release. The shop is in its pre-opening period, with further celebrations regarding its opening to come soon.

“When we opened our first west coast shop nearly 5 years ago, there was the intention to expand into California and across Los Angeles specifically, but the pandemic delayed those plans,” said Jorrie Bruffett, president of Pret A Manger North America, in the press release.

Westwood’s Pret location was opened by franchisee partner Dallas Holdings Limited, which specializes in opening and acquiring new coffee businesses.

Since the chain’s first store opened in London in 1986, Pret has expanded to include more than 650 shops across the world — including in France, Hong Kong, India, Switzerland and the United States — and more than 12,000 employees, according to the press release.