Panera Bread to Open May 28 in Cumming

Some Cumming area residents already have tasted what's coming out of the bakery at the newest Panera Bread, which isn't scheduled to open until May 28.

The restaurant's catering manager is out in the community visiting potential clients and handing out loaves of bread.

Between this week and the opening date, this Panera Bread location will have given away 500 loaves of bread, said Marianne Harris, the franchisee's marketing manager. The catering manager isn't just giving the bread to potential catering clients. He's also "randomly just giving them to people he crosses paths with along the way," she said.

The restaurant will be located in the old Blockbuster building at Lakeland Plaza off Highway 20 in Cumming.

This is the eighth Panera Bread location this family-owned company will open in the North Georgia area. Her family, led by Scott and Don Harris, started these franchises. They are from Atlanta originally.

"We live here in Cumming, so this one is extra special for us because we live in the community as well," she said.

This store has a drive through.

Hours (starting May 28)
Monday-Thursday: 6 a.m.-9 p.m.
Friday: 6 a.m.-10 p.m.
Saturday: 7 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday: 7 a.m.-9 p.m.

"We've got a great outdoor patio," Harris said.

The inside has the typical Panera Bread design, with an area that has comfortable chairs as a place for people to sit and relax.

"We plan to continue that outside," she said.

The "cozy corner" will have sofa type seating and even its own little garden.

The Harris family has hired approximately 50 people at the restaurant. They started training last Saturday and that training continues this week.

On the grand opening on May 28, the restaurant will give away raffle prizes and product giveaways, including baked goods "as a kind of welcome to the neighborhood," she said.

Sometime in June they will have a charity night to benefit Northside Hospital's breast cancer care program. They've been doing work with Northside Hospital for three years. A portion of the proceeds from their Pink Ribbon bagel sales have gone to Northside.