Panera opens in Highlands

[Robin Garr]

Panera Bread will open its ninth Louisville-area cafe tomorrow morning at 1534 Bardstown Road, in the old building known in the 1930s as the Laib Company, then a plumbing fixture store.

(Editor's note: Google Maps indicates that this is the portion of the old Ear X-tacy that Seviche didn't use? If so, wouldn't it have made more sense for the news release to have said that?)

The building's architecture, including oversize arched windows, has been incorporated into the design of the new bakery-cafe, according to a company news release.

I hope it thrives, yet I always feel just a slight chill when another chain eatery turns up in the city's characterful commercial neighborhoods. Is there anyone who really feels that Panera is better than Blue Dog, say, or Lotsa Pasta's breads?

It also bugs me just a little that Panera brags about, and I quote, "its identity rooted in handcrafted, freshly-baked, artisan bread," without ever disclosing that this "freshly baked artisan" bread is made in mass quantities at central commissaries - ours is in St. Louis - and trucked out to the stores for final baking.

Panera Bread=Best Bagels in Louisville.

What's wrong with this picture?

If that weren't the case they may have a harder time encroaching on our sacred "funky-funky but chic" ground.

[Robin Garr]

Panera Bread=Best Bagels in Louisville.

What's wrong with this picture?

Frustrating to be sure, although it should be noted that even the NYC bagel is not what the NYC bagel used to be.

NY Times Diner's Journal: Mimi Sheraton’s Opinion of New York Bagels Is Still Dim

I'm not familiar with that particular neighborhood, but generally this 'billy prefers a chain like Panera vs. an empty store front. (I assume that the location has been available to locals for a while, but for whatever reason(s) none stepped forward).
Bill

[Robin Garr]

I'm not familiar with that particular neighborhood, but generally this 'billy prefers a chain like Panera vs. an empty store front. (I assume that the location has been available to locals for a while, but for whatever reason(s) none stepped forward).
Bill

Actually, not. You know what they say about ASS ... U ... Me. When Ear X-tacy moved down the street to its new location at the Douglass Loop, Seviche stepped in to renovate and expand into half of the space; Panera has apparently been renovating the other half. Trust me on this: Bardstown Road and Baxter Avenue in the Highlands is not a strip where storefronts stand empty for long. .

OK, this is primo real estate, so then I am left to ponder why a local didn't pounce on the opportunity to lease the space?

I am hoping other local business get more walk ins as a by product.

[Robin Garr]

OK, this is primo real estate, so then I am left to ponder why a local didn't pounce on the opportunity to lease the space?

If I had to guess, I would guess that Panera got there firstest with the mostest. And yes, Bill, I understand that this is how the market works. That doesn't mean I have to like it.

From a previous thread I recall that the rent for that space was particularly high. This is the reason Ear-X-tacy moved to begin with and it effectively priced out many locals.

I'd love to have several Blue Dogs or the like around town. But given that they're not, I'm happy to have Panera around.

OK, this is primo real estate, so then I am left to ponder why a local didn't pounce on the opportunity to lease the space?

Too busy building food trucks perhaps ?

I dunno, I kinda like Panera...I don't make a point of dining there often but it is a favorite of both my daughters, so whenever either one of them is in town we always stop in for lunch. I can't say I've ever had a bad meal there and some of their soups are pretty darn tasty.

Driving back from Canada a few days ago and stopping in a Panera off the highway was a welcome treat within the off-highway wasteland of food choices. However, opting to dip into Panera in the Highlands with all the wonderful food choices surrounding it---I hardly think so! But hey, to each his/her own. Panera is not a desirable occupant of that space, but at least tolerable.

We live in Schnitzelburg, and we really enjoy the Panera on Goss. But I agree that I might be less likely to choose it over other options on Bardstown Road.

Are Blue Dog and Lotsa Pasta looking to expand to additional locations?

[Robin Garr]

Are Blue Dog and Lotsa Pasta looking to expand to additional locations?

I doubt it, but I was using them as examples, illustrating Panera's mediocrity by comparison.

Okayfine. Let's stand quietly by as Bardstown and Frankfort fill up with chains and urban Louisville gradually loses all that makes it special. Whatever. (Not yelling at you, Beth, just baying at the mooooon.)

Oh.