Panera opens first drive-thru at Cobblestone

Local Historic City News readers have been asking about the whirlwind of recent activity around the former Johnny Carino’s Italian Kitchen that has been closed for over a year in Cobblestone Village; and now the word is official — it’s Panera Bread.

Yesterday we reported that St. Louis-based Panera Bread Co. paid their business tax to open Panera Bread #1432, and today, the company has confirmed that their newest location will open at Cobblestone Village on December 28th.

The St. Augustine store will be a “first” among the 14 other Panera Bread restaurants in the Northeast Florida region. The company, which was established in 1981, announced that the Cobblestone Panera Bread on Tingle Court will be the company’s first drive-thru restaurant in this region.

“We believe Panera’s new restaurant concept is on the right track for growth,” said a Panera Bread spokesman. “We also believe that the opening of new restaurants is indicative of the company’s efforts to gain market share in a restaurant industry that is gradually turning around from the recent economic downturn.”

During the third quarter of this year, the company opened 22 new bakery cafes bringing the total unit count to 1,421; of which 605 are company-owned and 816 are franchised.

Average weekly sales for new units were $37,719 versus $35,680 in the third quarter last year.

Historic City News Editor Michael Gold who has worked on charitable events with Panera Bread in other cities, pointed out that the restaurants “are great corporate citizens and will be a asset to St. Augustine.” Through the Day-End Dough-Nation program, unsold bakery products are packaged at the end of each day and donated to local food banks and charities.

Last year, Panera Bread bakery-cafes collectively donated a retail value of more than 85 million dollars worth of bread and baked goods to charitable organizations that feed those in need in local communities, according to the company.