Thursday, February 23, 2006
Cafe chain to replace Mac & Maggie's Panera Bread is coming to town
Jenny Kincaid Boone
Jenny reports on the latest news on the Roanoke Valley retail industry.
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Panera Bread Co., a trendy cafe chain, is opening in Roanoke County, and a spokeswoman for the franchise said it wants to land a second Roanoke Valley location next year.
Blue Ridge Bread, a franchise that owns some of the restaurants in the Missouri-based Panera Bread chain, will renovate the former Mac & Maggie's restaurant at 4202 Electric Road and open Panera Bread by mid-July, said Kelly Jackson, a spokeswoman for Blue Ridge Bread. Mac & Maggie's last day of business was Sunday.
The franchise bread company owns other Panera cafes in Virginia, including one in Harrisonburg and one in Lynchburg. The company's owner is Rick Postle, who is the former president and chief operating officer for Panera Bread Co. Postle opened all of the Panera bakery cafes in Virginia through a joint venture with the company, but that venture ended about a year and a half ago, Postle said.
Blue Ridge Bread's goal is to open 13 Paneras in five years, Jackson said. Roanoke will be its sixth cafe, and it also has one in Warrenton and one in Charlottesville. In April, it will open a second Panera Bread in Charlottesville.
Roanoke County's Panera Bread will measure about 5,000 square feet, based on plans in the county's building office that still are under review, said Joel Baker, building commissioner.
Panera Bread is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Customers order at the counter. Panera features a bakery area selling bagels, pastries and muffins and a more varied food area, where customers can order soups served in bread bowls, sandwiches and salads.
The Roanoke County cafe will have a patio for outdoor dining and free Wi-Fi access throughout the restaurant, Jackson said.
She would not discuss the sites that the franchise is considering for a second Roanoke Valley location, though she said another cafe should open by next summer.
A potential site is a new shopping area that is planned at Valley View Mall. Only one retailer, Carrabba's Italian Grill, has said that it's coming to that retail center.
Jackson said Blue Ridge Bread also is looking for potential sites in the New River Valley for a Panera Bread.
Jay Crockett, the general manager of Mac & Maggie's, said Blue Ridge Bread bought Mac & Maggie's lease, which was set to end in 2011. The building is old, and it has had mechanical problems, Crockett said.
Plus, the owners of Mac & Maggie's "got a sweetheart deal from Panera," Crockett said. "It would have been hard to pass up."
The deal apparently has been a while in the making. Blue Ridge Bread and the owners of Mac & Maggie's have been talking about the deal for the last seven or eight months, Crockett said.
Jackson would not discuss the lease arrangements and other details of the deal.
Mac & Maggie's has been in Roanoke since 1981, Crockett said. About 22 employees lost their jobs, but many have found new ones at area restaurants, he said.
A restaurant known for its ribs, Mac & Maggie's is owned by business partners that also own and operate a restaurant chain in Greensboro, N.C., called Oh! Brian's.
Crockett said there are no plans to reopen Mac & Maggie's in Roanoke. And there are no other Mac & Maggie's around, though the menu at Oh! Brian's is identical, serving the same hamburgers, chicken and other basic American fare, he said.
Crockett said he's had "a zillion" phone calls from customers who are upset about his restaurant's closing.
And they will find a new concept in Panera Bread.
It was founded in 1981 as an Au Bon Pain, and later renamed. As of December, there were 877 company-owned and franchise cafes nationwide. In St. Louis, the company's outlets are known as Saint Louis Bread Co.
