Columbus Dispatch 06/05/2014

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/06/05/thisweek05-gdesoqpa-1.html

Final plans for a new Panera Bread Bakery & Cafe will be presented on Monday to the Canal Winchester Planning and Zoning Commission.

Covelli Enterprises, Panera’s largest franchisee, wants to build the new restaurant in the Waterloo Crossing shopping center, next to Chipotle. In April, the planning commission denied a conditional-use permit for a drive-through window, citing concerns about vehicles stacking up in the lane, then rushing to exit the lot near a pedestrian crosswalk.

The Canal Winchester City Council overruled that decision in May and agreed to allow the drive-through. Covelli spokesman Allen Ryan said that feature is important because it represents about a 16 percent increase in sales, or about $12,000 a week. But Ryan said during peak traffic times, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., that’s just about 27 cars an hour.

Construction on the restaurant could begin this summer.

— Andrew Miller