New Panera Bread cafe in the works on 725 in Washington Twp.

**ORIGINAL STORY (June 18, 2019)**

A new Panera Bread cafe with outdoor seating and a drive-through is in the works on Miamisburg-Centerville Road (Ohio 725) in Washington Twp.

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If approved, the proposed 4,523-square-foot restaurant would be located on a 1.35-acre tract on the northwest corner of Drexel Park Lane and Lyons Road, in an outlot in front of the Washington Park Plaza, with entrances from Drexel Park Lane and Washington Park Plaza Drive.

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The Washington Twp. Zoning Commission will review plans for the new restaurant at its meeting tonight, Tuesday, June 18. The project would require a final approval of the township’s board of trustees before construction could begin, Ryan Lee, the township’s development director, told this news outlet this morning.

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Construction would begin within one year after the plans are approved, according to McBride Dale Clarion, a Cincinnati-based development and planning services firm that submitted the application.

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The new Panera will be only about a mile-and-a-half from an existing Panera down the street near the Dayton Mall in Miami Twp., and two miles up the street from an existing Panera in downtown Centerville. It’s not clear how, if at all, the new Panera would impact those two existing cafe locations, and a statement released by Panera’s Dayton-area franchisee did not address any potential impact.

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“We are excited for the opportunity to bring another Panera Bread location to the Dayton area,” Jessica Vogel, regional marketing manager for Covelli Enterprises, told this news outlet late this morning. “We are grateful to the Washington Township zoning commission and look forward to the process.”