The Panera Bread sandwich chain, which made its NYC foray last spring, is at last putting finishing touches on its Downtown Brooklyn outlet at 345 Adams Street. The deal was first announced in December 2010. Signage has appeared at the space with “Coming Soon” posters lining the windows, near the Brooklyn Marriott steps from Brooklyn Heights.
Crain’s New York Business reported back in December that two other restaurants will soon be joining Panera on Adams Street in what is being deemed a mini “Restaurant Row”: Sugar and Plumm, a combination restaurant, ice cream parlor and chocolate retailer; and American BBQ and Beer Co., both developed by Sugar and Plumm Co., with Mark Advent, creator of Las Vegas’ New York, New York hotel and casino. Those two ventures are slated to open in the fall.
Crains says the eateries signed a 20-year lease to occupy a total of 11,012 square feet in the building around the corner from Fulton Mall, just by the upcoming Willoughby Street pedestrian plaza, and the new Shake Shack. Construction on both restaurants, located side by side, begins in March.
“We looked at the market carefully and decided Brooklyn was the perfect location to expand Sugar and Plumm and to launch American BBQ and Beer Co. We strongly believe Brooklyn is the place to be,” Lamia Jacobs, president/CEO of Sugar and Plumm told Crains. “Its people and the city’s commitment to elevating its entertainment experience make Brooklyn an ideal destination for us.”
Meanwhile, Panera currently has about 1,400 locations nationwide. Its first in New York opened last spring at 330 Seventh Ave. between West 29th and 30th streets in the Fashion Institute of Technology neighborhood.
(Photo: Brownstoner)