Details: New look for chain restaurant on Richmond Road where tree was cut down
A national chain looking to capitalize on the drive-thru upsurge from COVID is closing one Lexington restaurant and opening another.
Panera Bread, which has a location at 2573 Richmond Rd. in French Quarter Square, is planning to build a new restaurant design with a drive-thru at 2887 Richmond Rd. in front of the Lowe’s, according to Hogan Real Estate.
The building will go up on the spot where a large pin oak tree was cut down last year. A Sunshine Grow Shop plant nursery also used to be on the site, as well as a two-story office building that was demolished last fall.
In October, the city approved removal of the tree after arborists determined it was not healthy. Hogan agreed to plant more trees at the front of the property to offset the loss of the older trees and a bur oak on site was to be moved to a different location.
New Richmond Road Panera highlights
The new building will include the 4204-square-foot Panera with a double-lane wrap-around drive-thru as well as two retail spots. Traffic for the restaurant’s drive-thru will enter and exit onto a service road beside Richmond Road.
The restaurant also will have a patio with space for outdoor seating in front.
Work has begun on the lot but there was no word from Panera on when the new location is expected to open or when the old location will close.
Last summer, Panera unveiled a new restaurant design with two drive-thru, with one lane dedicated to the restaurant’s Rapid Pick-Up service. The first location opened in November in Missouri near the company’s St. Louis headquarters. The company said that going forward new units or remodels would use this design.
According to a published report, Panera said that during the pandemic 85 percent of the soup, sandwich and baked goods chain’s business came through off-premise dining. But older stores, such as the one now on Richmond Road, don’t have drive-thrus.
The redesigned store also opens the baking area to public viewing, adds contactless digital ordering and a fully digital menu in-cafe and in the drive-thru, according to the company.
