The growth of Olympia Fields as a “Foody” place will take a step forward with the opening of 26 August of the newest location of Panera Bread, ending a three -year journey.
The OCOMOWOC Restaurant, at 1361 Olympia Fields Drive, will be opened that day at 6 am with the usual fanfare, including a year of free “You choose two” meals for the first 100 customers. But the location, Panera's 13th in the Milwaukee area and first in OCOMOWOC, will try something else: a smaller store.
“This location marries a smaller footprint than traditional bakery cafés with updated ordering piosks and a fully digitized menu,” said Lindsay Cronin, a specialist in Panera Public Relations in an e-mail. “Designed with a limited dining area, the Bakery Cafe is aimed at serving guests en route.”
According to City of Oconomowoc documents, Panera Bread was originally planning to open a restaurant over a block north of the new location. Plans were approved in 2022, but were changed for a new site that was approved at the end of 2024.
Known for his soups, sandwiches and salads, Panera Bread has slowly but steadily raised its regional footprint. Recent openings include a site in West Allis in December 2024.
The chain now enters its 10th community in the metro area, according to the Panera-Was location map one of the early tenants in the expansion of the shopping in Fox River in Waukesha in 2016 and has operated a restaurant in the New Berlin city center for a quarter of a century. Restaurants are also active in Brookfield (three locations), Delafield, Greenfield, Menomonee Falls, Pewaukee and Wauwatosa (two locations).
For Olympia Fields, the development area that lands that once was part of the Olympia Resort Ski Hill and Conference Center, Panera is one of the various new restaurants announced or planned in the past year. In March, plans for a Chipotle Mexican Grill and First Watch Restaurant, also on Olympia Fields Drive, went with a lot of split approved by the city of Oeconomwoc. That is on top of other older restaurants in the area along Summit Drive nearby.
The draw of Olympia Fields was sufficient for Panera's area franchisee.
“We are very happy to open the first Panera in Oconomowoc,” said operational partner Amber Ramirez in an e -mail statement. “We are pleased to increase our presence in this beautiful community and look forward to supplying the great tasting food and impeccable service that our local guests expect from Panera.”
Local non -profit organizations – including schools, sports teams and reconnaissance groups – are also given the opportunity to organize fundraising events at the new Panera location as part of a large opening promotion up to and including 26 November. Panera will donate a certain percentage of the sale to those groups in that period.
Contact reporter Jim Riccioli on [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Panera Bread opens 26 August in Olympia Fields of Oconomowoc
