Panera opens To You restaurant downtown; Zandale restaurant to move across Nicholasville Road

The Panera Bread Co. opened its Panera to You restaurant Wednesday in downtown Lexington. The eatery is on the ground floor of the Park Plaza Apartments building next to the Lexington Public Library on Main Street.

The restaurant will be the first in Lexington to offer small-order delivery to customers within an 8- to 10-minute drive from downtown, Panera regional manager Katie Wilson said. The option also is offered in Louisville and Charlotte, N.C.

Delivery is available for $2.50 on any order of $5 or more and is guaranteed to reach a customer within 30 minutes, Wilson said. Orders may be placed online or through Panera's mobile app. For fast service, orders in the store can be placed at the register or at an iPad kiosk. All orders are packaged to go, but there are 40 dine-in seats and 30 seats outside.

The downtown spot has no parking lot, but Wednesday it was drawing a crowd of lanyard-wearing workers from nearby offices. The restaurant is open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Panera also is moving its Nicholasville Road store from Regency Center to the Zandale Shopping Center on the other side of the road.

That restaurant, which will have a drive-through, will open in November, store manager Jonath Jefferson said.

This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Panera opens To You restaurant downtown; Zandale restaurant to move across Nicholasville Road."