Panera Bread opens in Burlington Township NJ on Thursday March 21st at the new Shops At The Crossings on Mount Holly Road (Rt 541).
Panera Bread is a more premium national chain eatery that is regularly mentioned by commenters at the 42Freeway page “why can’t we get a Panera Bread?”!
Well it seems Burlington Township is the lucky winners this time around as not only does their new Panera Bread open on Thursday, it joins in the same shopping district where area’s first Freddy’s Steakburgers (opened last week) as well as South Jersey’s first Raising Cane’s (opened in January).
If you’re unfamiliar, Panera Bread is a national restaurant brand which focuses on a higher quality, freshly prepared menu, made with carefully selected healthy ingredients that they would be happy to serve their own families.
The menu features classic comforting dishes, typically with an interesting twist.
Of course they have amazing breads… it’s in the name! And they make incredible sandwiches on the bread… but they may be as well known for their soups, which are always fresh and delicious.
Panera Bread Burlington Township
The Shops at The Crossings is on a large property which originally was home to the Burlington Center Mall. The mall is now gone and warehouse take up the bulk of the property. Approximately 30 acre parcel at the Bromley Boulevard intersection is reserved for consumer oriented commercial.
The frontage of Mt Holly Road now features several new businesses which also includes Raising Cane’s and Freddy’s Steakburgers
The new Burlington Panera shares a building with a Sleep Number retail store.
I stopped in at the Panera Bread last week unannounced and luckily caught up with one of the restaurant managers who let me in to take some photos.
Even though I was in there before the employees had a chance to show up and no food was in the restaurant, the restaurant interior was already looking beautiful and ready to go!
This Panera Bread opens with a full drive-thru, which looking that their area locations page seems to be a unique aspect. Cross Keys Road location has recently added a Drive-Thru, but the other area Panera locations were developed before the drive-thru craze started!
Inside, the Panera Bread is very nicely designed with a very comfortable and appealing decor which is inviting enough to hang out with friends for lunch, or to even take a break with your laptop and catch up with some work.
The interior is light and bright but features a light earth tone theme with some darker green wall accents and light wood grain throughout.
It just feels fresh and healthy, if that makes sense!
The new Burlington Panera Bread is designed with a more open feel than Deptford, with one large dining area offering a variety of seating styles, and a kitchen ordering/area in the back.
It’s still a decently sized eatery, but it feels smaller than the Deptford location which was developed several years ago before the restaurant industry’s big push towards drive-through orders and delivery services kicked in.
I missed the Friends and Family preview last night but will stop in soon to check out the latest Panera Bread!
Links and Locations
Panera Bread – Burlington Township (Opens March 21, 2024)
2501 Mount Holly Rd
Burlington, NJ