Panera Bread opened its first location in Montana last week, with more in the works across the state. The first restaurant is located on the north side of Kalispell at the expanding Spring Prairie Commons.
The national bakery-café restaurant chain set up shop inside a 5,100-square-foot building near the southern entrance of the center. The Ryan Restaurant Group, which operates the local Famous Dave’s and both local Applebee’s, secured franchise rights for Panera Bread and reportedly plans to open six other locations over the coming years, with Missoula up next.
Panera Bread was founded in Missouri in 1987 and now has more than 2,000 bakery-cafés spread across the U.S. and Canada.
Other news businesses breaking ground or under construction in the Spring Prairie Commons development include a Recreational Equipment, Inc., or REI, MOD Pizza, Kay Jewelers, T-Mobile and Kobe Steakhouse.