Panera in downtown Arlington Heights closing
Panera Bread in downtown Arlington Heights is closing later this month, and residents and longtime customers are not happy to see it go.
The last day the restaurant will be open at 31 S. Evergreen is Feb. 24, confirmed manager Paul Michaels, who said the closing was a corporate decision.
A statement from Panera Bread on Friday said: "For 15 years, the Panera Bread bakery-cafe on Evergreen Street has been privileged to serve our neighbors in downtown Arlington Heights. With the expiration of our lease, we have decided to close this location on Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. We will continue serving area guests at our new Rolling Meadows and Mount Prospect locations, which include drive through windows for added convenience. We will also provide opportunities for all associates and managers who wish to continue with Panera at other bakery-cafes."
Longtime customers were upset to hear about the closing this week.
"There's been a real faithful group of people coming here for a few years and we are just heart-stricken that our meeting place is being closed," said resident Bob Schwarz.
Other customers said they were surprised to hear that the often-busy restaurant was closing.
"I'm shocked it's closing to tell you the truth," said resident Jim McKay. "I come here with my wife and kids. It's a good place to eat and work."
McKay said he has lived in Arlington Heights for 20 years and is concerned that such a big hole in the downtown will hurt other businesses.
"I can see this downtown area evaporating," he said, "if the local businesses keep moving out. It's been declining for a while. I'm just shocked."
Others were also concerned about the impact on other businesses in the Evergreen plaza in the heart of downtown.
"It's like a domino effect," said Nina Maimonis, of Mount Prospect. "Having empty stores is going to affect other stores."
Maimonis said she comes from out of town to the Arlington Heights Panera because of the camaraderie she's found there with other regular customers.
"It's like a big family here," she said. "Everyone looks out for each other."
Last winter one of the regulars stopped coming in so they got concerned, she said. They found out he had fallen on the ice and hurt himself, so someone brought him food until he could come back to the restaurant.
Brian Mika, who said he has been homeless since October 2013, said he comes to Panera early in the morning and late and night when the library is closed.
"A lot of times I haven't had money to buy anything, but I just sit in the back," Mika said, adding that sometimes the manager brings him leftover food at the end of the night. "This place is especially important in the winter."
Village officials said they tried their best to keep Panera in Arlington Heights.
"We made multiple significant efforts to work with Panera corporate representatives to see if we could keep them in the downtown because we recognize their value and what they bring to the community," said Business Development Coordinator Michael Mertes.
"Unfortunately it was a corporate decision, but it was not based on t heir dissatisfaction with Arlington Heights," Mertes said. Panera has another location in Arlington Heights along Rand Road.
When Panera closes in a few weeks it will leave a hole in the village's downtown that Mertes said officials want filled quickly.
"We will be working with brokers for the site to try to find a new tenant who will also be an asset to the downtown," he said. "It would be nice to have another restaurant there, but we're open to other possibilities if it seems like a good fit."
Mertes said the news is not all bad for businesses in downtown. In 2014 more than a dozen new businesses opened in the downtown alone, he said. During the last vacancy study done in April 2014, the retail vacancy rate in downtown Arlington Heights was 8.7 percent compared to 10.4 percent for the rest of the metro area, Mertes said.
"It's a part of our thriving downtown and we want to put another thriving business there to help bring more people in," Mertes said.