Panera Opens in Manhattan

Fast-casual chain Panera Bread (Sunset Hills, Mo.) enters Manhattan today with its first location in the city, reports QSR magazine. The restaurant is located at 330 Seventh Avenue, while three more Panera locations will follow this year, at East 86th Street, 5th Avenue, and Union Square.

“For Panera, our model is around the suburban marketplace,” says Scott Davis, executive vp and coo, reports QSR. “So it took a while for us to get a sense of really how to go into an area like Manhattan. It can be daunting when you’re standing from the outside looking in.”

Panera restaurants average 4000 square feet.