UPPER MERION — The tempting aromas of fresh-baked bread, cinnamon and garlic co-mingle in the air as you walk through the front door.

That may sound like a crazy fusion of scents, but it does a number on your olfactory neurons in the joint entranceway shared by Corner Bakery Cafe and Maggiano’s Little Italy, tugging your taste buds in conflicting directions.

Bear left for a leisurely meal of Italian cuisine; to the right for quick-bite sandwiches, salads, sweets and coffee.

Even though they’re no longer owned by the same company, the two restaurants continue a “symbiotic” relationship that started when they opened together on the edge of The Plaza at King of Prussia in 2001, noted Jeff Warden, President of The Rose Group, which owns the mall location and several others in the Philadelphia area.

“I think it’s just one of those marriages that works, and people are so used to us being together,” he added. “We’re not competitive with each other and we each offer a different experience.”

Brinker International, onetime owner of Maggiano’s, had opened the adjacent Corner Bakery Cafe in King of Prussia as more of a fast-service alternative to Maggiano’s, Warden noted.

“But when they realized the appeal of this type of restaurant once it was so successful here, they decided to operate the two restaurants separately, which they did until Corner Bakery was purchased by Il Fornaio in 2005.”

The Rose Group quickly became the debut franchisee in the country for the national chain, which was founded in downtown Chicago.

“We’re very well known, and I think they wanted a very prominent restaurant company to be their first franchisee,” Warden said.

With plans to build 17 more Corner Bakery Cafe stores in the next several years, The Rose Group recently opened one at Lehigh Valley Mall, a prototype operation that features some interior decor relevant to the area.

The Corner Bakery concept of placing your order and then sitting down for table delivery is unique in the world of fast-casual dining, and meant to induce a little relaxation in customers, Warden allowed.

“It’s convenient, especially for moms, who might come in with a stroller and can’t try to carry a tray when they’re in line,” he said. “It’s the kind of quick-service restaurant people are looking for today, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

Someone will even clean up after you.

“You can see some people look for a place to put their dishes when they’re done, but we take care of that too,” Warden said. “That’s one of the main features of Corner Bakery.”

The ever-evolving menu keeps pace with the fresh updates people often expect in their food these days, he pointed out.

Even something as classic as a BLT is not above being tweaked —thus the BBLT was born.

As Frank Sinatra serenaded the lunch crowd in the warm, vaguely Brooklyn-esque dining room —”When you enter Maggiano’s, you see us first, so we’re sensitive to that and we have a lot of elements of Maggiano’s here,” Warden said ­— more than a few BBLTs found their way to nearby tables.

“That’s bacon, bacon, local tomato,” Warden explained. “It’s a seasonal thing because we use Jersey tomatoes. It’s on our own white bread, which we call Mom’s Bread, with balsamic mayo that kicks it up a bit. You need to evolve in the restaurant business, and Corner Bakery does a great job of that.”

The breakfast menu has grown beyond breads and muffins, to include omelets, egg sandwiches and oatmeal.

Warden is amazed at the number of folks who have discovered the restaurant through its extensive catering over the years.

“Catering is a significant component of what we do. It’s one of the hallmarks of this store and it’s somewhat unique to us. A lot of people get exposed to use through catering.”

Together with company-owned Applebee’s restaurants, Corner Bakery Cafe has raised over $1.6 million for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation.

“It fits in with our belief about community involvement, where you are the corner restaurant,” Warden said. “We’re meant to be a corner bakery ... on the corner somewhere, whether in a small town or here in King of Prussia.

It’s where people meet, with all kinds of activity going on — people having meetings, sitting with computers. It’s not just come in, eat and leave.”

Warden said he wouldn’t trade Corner Bakery Cafe’s one-of-a-kind setup next to Maggiano’s for anything.

“We love being here. We’re established. This is how people have been introduced to us. And that’s the nice part about Corner Bakery — all of our locations are a little different. No matter where we are,” he added, “people come here because of the freshness of ingredients, the comfort level, and it’s very accessible and reasonably priced.”