BAKERY RISES TO OCCASION : MANHATTAN BAGEL TO OPEN VALLEY PLANT.

Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer

A lot of dough is coming to San Fernando.

Manhattan Bagel dough, that is.

The Eatontown, N.J., bagel chain is leasing 25,000 square feet of space in a 145,000-square-foot facility on Arroyo Boulevard in San Fernando to serve as its West Coast manufacturing plant and regional offices.

The facility will make the dough and then ship it preformed and frozen to its stores. The dough is boiled, seasoned and baked at each of its shops.

The plant will be capable of manufacturing up to 125,000 dozen bagels a week, up from 16,000 weekly at its existing Canoga Park facility.

Manhattan Bagel is moving its existing 8,000-square-foot plant to San Fernando because it outgrew the West Valley space, said company President Jason Gennusa.

``We have very limited production over there,'' he said. ``We have tenants on either side so we can't expand.''

The San Fernando plant will absorb the 23 existing employees. Eventually, the company will increase its work force to 50, Gennusa said.

The facility will be built in two phases. The first will cost the chain about $1.2 million and the second phase $2.5 million.

The city is pleased to attract more jobs to the area.

``We're happy to have them,'' said Jack Cook, a city planner.

Manhattan Bagel has eight stores in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys - Northridge, North Hills, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Encino, Woodland Hills, West Hills and Valencia.

It has 42 stores in California, more than half of which are in the Southland.

Gennusa said the chain plans to open 83 new stores by the end of this year, including 20 in California. At present, it has 315 stores in 18 states.

Manhattan Bagel had 1996 revenues of $37 million and has 555 employees worldwide.