The long-awaited Panera Bread in Wilkes-Barre Twp. Commons is scheduled to open June 2, Wilkes-Barre Twp. Zoning Officer Tom Zedolik said Tuesday.
Zedolik completed a final inspection and issued a certificate of occupancy Tuesday for the stand-alone Panera Bread with a drive-thru.
A sign in front of the new Panera Bread says âopening soon, hiring now.â It is opening nearly three years after a tornado destroyed the restaurant and other businesses in the strip mall.
Zedolik said he spoke with the manager and he told him they have hired enough people to open but they continue to do interviews.
Job openings were posted online for a team manager, salad and sandwich maker, overnight baker and cashiers.
New projects are planned at the sites of some vacant buildings in Wilkes-Barre Twp.
The building that housed the former Bob Evans restaurant on Schechter Drive will be demolished and a discount tire store will be built in its place, said Wilkes-Barre Twp. Zoning Officer Tom Zedolik.
Zedolik said he spoke with an architect and an engineer representing national tire chain Discount Tire Company about a proposed project to demolish the former restaurant and open a tire store but they have not submitted official plans yet.
Meaghan Moore, a public relations representative for Discount Tire, said Discount Tire is planning a location in Wilkes-Barre Twp. but it is not slated to open until 2023.