PANERA BREAD RESTAURANT
Downers Grove, IL - 1999

Panera Bread, formerly known as St. Louis Bread Company, Inc., had just begun implementing a development plan to penetrate the Chicago market. All restaurants already completed in this market were either restaurant conversions or shopping mall locations. This project was the first new freestanding Panera Bread restaurant in the state of Illinois. Like other fast food chains, Panera Bread also has a prototype building design, which corporate wanted to use. Luckily, the landlord did not like their design and hired us to design/build a restaurant that would compliment the entire shopping center.

Sighting the building on the small site was a unique challenge. Our solution turned the building 45 deg. from frontage, thereby highlighting and giving the building a unique perspective since all other businesses are parallel to the street. Additionally, this solution provided great dining room visibility from both traffic directions. Using the same brick wainscot and similar standing seam metal roof panels as the existing shopping center help unify the buildings