Panera Bread on Nassau Street has permanently shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic. A sign on the door now redirects customers to the West Windsor and Plainsboro Township locations.
After the company closed its restaurants during the shutdown, Panera Bread implemented curbside pick-up, drive-thru, and delivery options, as well as a grocery service to make up the lost income. However, the restaurant chain lost half of its business when dine-in services closed.
Other locations around the country have also permanently shut down, including in Kentucky, Alabama, and Lousiana.
In Princeton, Panera Bread served as a popular eatery and meeting space for students, with open seating and inexpensive food.
“[It’s] kind of a shame, since most places in town feel pretty formal and expensive,” said Ceon Sun ’23, referencing the restaurant’s closing. “Panera was one of the few places that you could get a relatively quick and cheap meal from. ”
Rifat Islam ’23 was similarly disappointed by the loss of Panera.
“Panera Bread was an institution and it devastates me to see that the Princeton community will no longer have access to it,” he said.
In 2018, the Nassau Street eatery was the site of a fatal police shooting of a man carrying a BB pistol, following a nearly five-hour standoff with law enforcement.
Panera Bread did not respond to requests for comments by the time of this publication.
Other local restaurants, including Mistral and Blue Point Grill, are currently open, but only for take-out and limited outdoor seating as the town begins expanding dining options for restaurants.
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