Thursday, April 25, 2013

Panera Bread Set to Open on May 1st


The Panera Bread at 213 Burlington Road is set to Open on May 1st. While not "Officially" open, Panera Bread held a benefit to raise money for Bedford High School on April 24th. The new Panera Bread, which joins 3 other restaurants (Bamboo, Flatbread and Melting Pot) in the building, is primarily focused on take out and delivery. This is a new concept for Panera Bread. For customers who want to eat in, there is now a common lobby area with seating that is open to the public. The restaurant is scheduled to be open from 6am-10pm (Sundays 7am-9pm).

As part of the agreement to open, the property owner added 48 additional parking spaces in front of the building.

Comments:
1. This building has become a mini-hub for restaurants. It will be interesting to see if these restaurants drive more retail to the building or nearby areas. For example there are vacant office buildings a few doors down, would be interesting to see an extended hotel come in.
2. The common seating area seems like a good idea and may encourage more business for the restaurants. You could have a few people pick up lunch at the different restaurants (or even bring their own) and then get together to eat.
3. It will be interesting to see how well this concept works for Panera Bread. With all the businesses nearby and right off route 3, it looks like they picked a good location to test.
4. The new parking spaces seem like it will also benefit Melting Pot. Previously the closest place to park for Melting Pot was in the garage next door (209 Burlington Road).


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