Panera Bread Opens in Burlington and Donates to Food Shelf

September 26 Fox 44

 Burlington, Vermont- The popular national chain Panera Bread, opens its doors for the first day of business in downtown Burlington.  The restaurant’s opening means more jobs coming to the state.  While not all are thrilled about a chain store on Church Street, what most people don’t know is that the chain will be giving food to the Chittenden County Emergency Food Bank.  The food bank says Panera’s opening couldn’t have come at a better time.

The lines were long but moved fast and the soup piping hot and the bread fresh out of the oven.

“We’ve had such a great response from people in Vermont.  Everyone has come in excited that we are open,” said Vermont District Manager, David Almond.

Although a national chain restaurant, Panera Bread gets several staple foods from the green mountain state.

“All our white cheddar is from Vermont, that we use on our breakfast sandwiches and our macaroni and cheese. Also, our coffee roaster is here. Hacienda La Minita, has been here forever and they are just two miles down the road on the water,” said Almond.

The restaurant wants to get involved with the community as much as possible which is why, “They contacted us a couple of months ago to let us know they are coming to town and that they wanted to help out people in need. It was great,” said Rob Meehan, Director of the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf.

Meehan says Panera plans to give all its left over bakery items to the food bank rather than throw it away, “To have that coming in on a constant basis is going to be fantastic.”

That’s because bread at the food shelf is typically gone by noon. 

“Usually we go through a big amount of bread and produce and we never have enough so this is a really great thing that’s happening and couldn’t be at a better time,” said Meehan.

Panera hired around 70 people for the Church Street location.  There are future plans to open Panera Bread restaurants in Rutland, Williston and South Burlington.