A new Panera Bread is coming to this bustling Columbia district
Something new is baking in one of Columbia’s busiest retail districts.
A new Panera Bread location is coming to Harbison Boulevard. City of Columbia officials confirmed a building permit has been issued and construction is underway on the restaurant there. The standalone restaurant with a drive-thru is being built out in front of the Harbison Center shopping complex at 275 Harbison Blvd. That shopping center includes Rooms To Go, 2nd & Charles and a number of other retailers.
There are more than 2,100 Panera Bread locations across the United States, including eight in the Midlands area. There already is a Panera in operation at 1007 Bower Parkway, not far from the location of the coming Harbison Boulevard site. A message sent to Panera Bread was not immediately returned.
Harbison Boulevard continues to be a bustling corridor for shopping and dining. Traffic data from the S.C. Department of Transportation shows about 30,000 cars per day pass down Harbison, with nearly 100,000 cars per day traveling down Interstate 26 nearby.
Panera Bread is known for its bakery items, sandwiches, salads and bowls, breakfast items, flatbread pizzas and more.
This story was originally published September 23, 2022 at 2:02 PM.
