Six months right into a turnaround plan that features a refreshed menu and a renewed dedication to the client expertise, Panera Bread is rising at a wholesome clip.
Up to now in 2026, the fast-casual has opened 23 new bakery-cafes, together with 15 company-owned places and eight franchised ones, a spokesperson informed Quick Firm. And not less than 25 further places are anticipated to open earlier than the yr is out.
The rising footprint comes after CEO Paul Carbone introduced his “Panera Rise” plan in November 2025, a change technique that additionally contains modernizing its present retailer portfolio.
However not all of Panera’s places are going to outlive the transformation.
Since final summer time, not less than two dozen Panera Bread places have closed throughout a number of states, based on an evaluation of native media experiences, on-line evaluation platforms, and Panera’s retailer locator instrument.
California has been hit particularly laborious, with not less than six closures, whereas Panera Bread places have additionally closed in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, and Ohio.
In Texas, in the meantime, greater than a dozen places within the Houston space closed final summer time after the high-profile collapse and chapter of a big franchisee.
Courtroom data present that eight of these places have since been offered to an entity tied to Hamra Enterprises, which already owns Panera bakery-cafes in states together with Illinois and Massachusetts.
But when and when these shuttered Houston-area places will reopen was not instantly clear. Hamra Enterprises didn’t reply to requests for remark.
Which Panera Bread places have closed?
In accordance with our evaluation, the places listed beneath have closed since final summer time. The checklist might not be a full rely. We’ve additionally famous which Texas places had been reported offered in court docket data. We’ll replace this story if we hear again from the customer concerning the destiny of these shops.
California
- 13450 Highland Pl Bldg D Ste R4 San Diego, CA 92130
- 2415 E Chapman Ave, Fullerton, CA 92838
- 5895 Katella Ave Suite F, Cypress, CA 90630
- 640 Ventura Blvd Suite 1200, Camarillo, CA 93010
- 8152 E Santa Ana Canyon Rd, Anaheim, CA 92808
- 6344 CA-27 Suite 1090, Woodland Hills, CA 91367
Iowa
- 101 Jordan Creek Pkwy, West Des Moines, IA 50266
Maryland
- 45250 Price Ave, California, MD 20619
- 219 E Center Ln, Rockville, MD 20850
New York
- 254-41 Horace Harding Expy, Little Neck, NY 11362
North Carolina
- 9321 JW Clay Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28262
- 201 S Faculty St Suite 150, Charlotte, NC 28244
Ohio
- 3806 Paxton Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45209
Pennsylvania
- 3401 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Texas
- 1302 W Davis St, Conroe, TX 77304 (offered)
- 1448 Louetta Rd, Spring, TX 77388 (offered)
- 3548 Rayford Rd, Spring, TX 77386 (offered)
- 12220 FM 1960 W, Houston, TX 77065 (offered)
- 13704 Northwest Fwy, Houston, TX 77040 (offered)
- 19506 Katy Fwy, Houston, TX 77094 (offered)
- 22521 Tomball Pkwy Suite 125, Houston, TX 77070 (offered)
- 25546 Kingsland Blvd, Katy, TX 77494 (offered)
- 1201 Lake Woodlands Dr, The Woodlands, TX 77380
- 15607 Hwy 105 W, Montgomery, TX 77356
- 26003 Northwest Fwy., Cypress, TX 77429
Will extra Panera Bread shops shut?
Reached for remark, a spokesperson for Panera Bread didn’t present particulars about why particular places have closed or whether or not further closures had been anticipated. However the spokesperson famous that Panera’s general footprint is rising this yr.
It’s commonplace for restaurant chains or franchisees to shut underperforming places, even when a series’s footprint could in any other case be rising.
As of the top of Could, Panera Bread had 2,255 bakery-cafes, together with firm shops and franchised places. Total, the chain has opened extra eating places than it has closed over the past sixteen years.
Panera Bread was taken non-public in 2017 when it was acquired by funding agency JAB Holdings in a deal estimated to be price $7.5 billion on the time.
In accordance with a report last year from Franchise Occasions, gross sales slowed post-COVID and “turned adverse” in 2024. Extra just lately, Panera started closing its fresh dough facilities as a part of a shift to a par-baked mannequin.
This story is growing and could also be up to date . . .
