Community Corner

Panera Bread Coming to Monrovia

The sandwich shop and bakery will join Smashburger and Chipotle in a new development on Huntington Drive.

Panera Bread has submitted building plans to the city and intends to lease one of the spaces in a new development being built at the old Acapulco restaurant site on Huntington Drive, a city official told Patch.

Craig Jimenez, Monrovia's principal planner, said Monday that the bakery and sandwich chain submitted its building plans last week. Demolition of the Acapulco building has already begun and Panera could be open by the end of the year, Jimenez said. Construction will begin soon.

"I would imagine that within the next month we should see them pretty far underway," Jimenez said.

Panera operates more than 1,670 cafes in the U.S. and Canada, according to its website.

Panera will occupy one of four units in the new complex, joining Smashburger and Chipotle as confirmed tenants. The fourth and smallest unit has not yet been leased, Jimenez said.

Panera will not serve beer or wine so it will not need to obtain a conditional use permit from the planning commission, Jimenez said.


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