Panera Bread coming to Lake Zurich

Panera Bread Co.'s artisan breads, soups and sandwiches are coming to Lake Zurich.

Village board trustees last week granted a special-use permit to allow outdoor dining and other approvals so the Panera can be built at Lake Zurich Corners mall at the northeast corner of Rand Road and Route 22.

"I'm looking forward to Panera in Lake Zurich," said Trustee Jim Beaudoin, who echoed other officials. "We'll have a lot of happy residents."

Panera franchisee Hamra Enterprises is bringing the restaurant to Lake Zurich. Headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, Hamra is the Panera franchisee in Lake, Kendall, Kane, DeKalb, McHenry and Will counties.

Hamra representative Jason Berg said the Lake Zurich location, just south of Paulus Park, will have a drive-through, which is relatively new to Panera. In addition to indoor dining, there will be seats outside for 12 customers.

Developer Adam Firsel said Panera has signed a 15-year lease with options for Lake Zurich Corners. The restaurant cannot be larger than 4,000 square feet, under the approval from the village board.

"They're a very strong company," Firsel said of Panera. "They intend to be here for a very long period of time."

Panera is part of a growing fast-casual restaurant category that includes Chipotle Mexican Grill and Potbelly. Panera is known for artisan breads, such as asiago focaccia, and a variety of sandwiches and fresh soups.

Fast casual accounted for $39 billion or about 8 percent of $466 billion in U.S. restaurant sales in 2014, according to industry research and consulting firm Technomic. The segment had a sales growth rate of 13 percent.

Hamra Enterprises owns 37 Panera Bread eateries in the Chicago area.