WOODBRIDGE — For those who love Panera Bread but are too busy to step inside to grab their sandwich, life just got a lot easier.
On September 11, the Board of County Supervisors held a public hearing about a new drive-through Panera slated to be built on Prince William Parkway at the intersection with Caton Hill Road in the existing Parkway Crossing West shopping center parking lot.
This will be the first drive-through Panera restaurant in Prince William County.
Dr. K. Jack Kooyoomjian, President of LOCCA- the Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association – said that LOCCA reviewed the Panera. “They did everything in an ideal way,” Kooyoomjian said. “All our comments and suggestions were included in some fashion in their plan.”
“We look forward to this,” Kooyoomjian said.
He did point out that the owner of the shopping center needs to be cognizant of the potholes, which Supervisor Anderson said she is aware of.
The vote was unanimous with one exception- Supervisor Marty Nohe, who abstained.
“I can literally see this Panera from my office window,” Coles District Supervisor Marty Nohe said.
Nohe is the owner of Appliance Connection in Woodbridge, located next to where the new restaurant will be built.
“And there’s no legal conflict of interest, I’m just going to be eating there a lot and it feels like a conflict of interest.”
Once the new restaurant opens, an existing Panera next to Best Buy in nearby Smoketown Stations will close.
Panera operates drive-through restaurants in southern Stafford County and in Fredericksburg.
