CONWAY, Ark. (Oct. 5, 2009) – Missouri-based Panera Bread will open in The Village at Hendrix next summer, becoming the first commercial tenant of the New Urbanist community. Panera operates full-service bakery-cafes that serve fresh meals throughout the day.
The Village at Hendrix incorporates single family residences, restaurants, businesses, and student apartments into a walkable community. Panera will be located in the first floor of a four-story mixed-use building already constructed, accessible to the public and within walking distance of the single-family homes at The Village.
The first single-family home at The Village is expected to be completed this month.
Panera, which will operate in a 4,500-square-foot section of the 1050 Ellis Building at The Village, features a bakery menu with freshly baked breads, bagels, baked egg soufflés and pastries and sweets. Its café menu has sandwiches, fresh-made soups, hand-tossed salads, beverages and a Panera Kids menu. In Arkansas, Panera has stores in Little Rock, Bentonville, Fort Smith and Fayetteville.
“This is the model of what we envisioned for The Village – a popular, well-respected, widely-known restaurant that is new for Conway,” said Beth Tyler, the director of marketing for The Village. “It’s a tremendous addition to Downtown Conway. We plan to add even more of these types of commercial tenants in the near future.”
In addition to being unique to Conway, Panera Bread has also been successful as a franchise. Since 1999, Panera Bread’s stock has grown thirteen-fold and over $1 billion in shareholder value has been created. Panera Bread has been recognized as one of Business Week's "100 Hot Growth Companies." As reported by The Wall St. Journal's Shareholder Scorecard in 2006, Panera Bread was recognized as the top performer in the restaurant category for one-, five- and ten-year returns to shareholders.
The Panera Bread legacy began in 1981 as Au Bon Pain Co., Inc. Founded by Louis Kane and Ron Shaich, the company prospered along the east coast of the United States and internationally throughout the 1980s and 1990s and became the dominant operator within the bakery-cafe category.
In 1993, Au Bon Pain Co., Inc. purchased Saint Louis Bread Company, a chain of 20 bakery-cafes located in the St. Louis area. The company then managed a comprehensive re-staging of Saint Louis Bread Co. Between 1993 and 1997 average unit volumes increased by 75 percent. Ultimately the concept's name was changed to Panera Bread.
As of June 30, there are 1,276 Panera Bread and Saint Louis Bread Co. in 40 states and in Canada delivering fresh, authentic artisan bread served in a warm environment by engaging associates.