Get Bready: Panera May be Coming to the Center

National bakery-cafe chain Panera Bread is only a town building inspector approval away from moving in to part of a empty lot at 1690 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington Building Clerk Amy Casparius confirmed Thursday, July 28.

The exterior patio on the left side of the new Panera location, which would take up around half of the former home of clothing retailer Cohoes, has already been approved by the Historic District Commission after a process that included putting a mock Panera sign up at the proposed location this spring.

Panera officially applied for a permit on June 13, and all that stands in the way of construction beginning is for a town building inspector to sign off on the specifics of the building plans, which could happen this week, Casparius said.

Panera would join an already competitive market for breakfast and lunch in the Center. And Patch took to the streets to find out how locals thought the mega-chain would fit in.

"I think it's great," said Neal Chamberlain, a lifelong Lexington resident. "There are too many banks and real estate agents here and not enough restaurants. You really have to go out of town to find a place that has breakfast, lunch and dinner at moderate prices."

Other lifers were excited about using Panera as a place to gather with large groups of friends.

"We've heard rumors about it, and we like that it's a place where a group can have space to hang out," said Bob Amico, while sitting with a friend outside recently. "I've liked it the couple times I've been there."

The younger generation is excited as well. Or, at least that was the sentiment among Alex Lenrow, Mike Salusti and Andres Benites, three 13-year olds who go to nearby and eat lunch in the Center at least four times a week..

"We're tired of the options we have," said Andres. "There's not really a place around here with good soup as well as sandwiches, and good hot chocolate in the winter too."

The three were waiting in line to get a sandwich at , a Montana-based bakery-cafe chain that could end up being Panera's most direct competitor. 

"We're not happy about it," said Nicole Caron, the bakery's owner. "How can you be happy about more competition?"

But Susan Yanofsky, the town's former economic development director, said she felt the addition of Panera would strengthen what's already a robust roster of eateries here in Lexington Center.

"There is a very strong food establishment cluster here, and having another entry in that market will strengthen it," Yanofsky told Patch before leaving town in June. "We will see visitors come to Lexington Center that we haven't seen before because they are interested in coming to Panera. And one of the benefits is that they will come back and maybe try someplace different."