Panera Bread Opens in RPB; Lures Customers With 3-Day Promotions

The clock said 6:29 am. The temperature hovered around a Florida-chilly 50 degrees, but already the line at the door was about 12 people deep.

"We love the food here and, you know, we're local. We've been waiting for this place to open for months," said Colleen Campbell, who was one of the first customers at the new Panera Bread in Royal Palm Beach. 

Campbell was among the many who sampled the store's "recipe" for success on Tuesday. Panera continues to expand throughout Palm Beach County, despite a struggling economy that has forced other restaurants to close and some customers to cut back on spending.

"The economy is what it is. I'm not going to take away from son," Campbell added, as her son sipped hot cocoa and munched on a bagel.

The bakery-café said it was doing a special three-day promotion to not only help customers survive the economic squeeze but to also celebrate the store's opening.

Beginning at 10 am, the new store at 11131 Southern Boulevard was giving away free travel coffee mugs and two-week coffee refills to the first 500 guests. The store is also handing out gift cards on Wednesday and Thursday.

"We are very excited to be opening another Panera Bread in this community," said Sam Covelli, owner of Covelli Enterprises, in a statement. "We look forward to continuing to grow in the West Palm Beach area with more stores in the near future and truly appreciate all of the support the community has given to our cafés."

Covelli Enterprises operates 150 bakery-cafés in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida, the company said, and remains the nation's largest franchisee of Panera Bread.

Company officials said future store openings are scheduled for Boynton Beach and Coral Springs in the next six months.