Panera Bread location in Toronto has permanently closed

A Panera Bread bakery-cafe at a high turnover location in Toronto abruptly closed its doors this week, to the dismay of loyal customers who regularly took advantage of the chain’s hearty bread, pastries, and free Wi-Fi.

In a post to a community Facebook group, one local resident uploaded a picture that showed the storefront of Panera Bread’s location at 197 N Queen Street, just opposite Sherway Gardens.

The American chain currently boasts over 1,900 locations across the US and Canada, and is well known for its extensive dine-in and takeout menu that includes coffee drinks, pizzas, soups, paninis, pasta, salads, and of course, lots and lots of bread.

“We have closed our doors,” the sign reads. “Thank you for your support over the years! We hope you visit us at one of our nearby cafes.”

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The announcement prompted some mixed reactions among community residents, some of whom celebrated the departure of the chain in favour of local establishments, and others who mourned the loss of specific menu items.

“Oh noooo. That place was always busy and my favourite! Wow what a loss,” one person said.

“Honestly the food here is hospital food at best. I’ve never been happy with my experience,” a contrasting comment reads.

“It was overpriced, American chain, and all of those things BUT that hand-carved roasted turkey avocado sandwich was one of the best I’ve had, but yes it was $20,” another customer wrote.

Panera Bread first expanded into Canada in 2008, and has since shuttered some of its original stores. In July 2020, the chain permanently closed its location at 322 Yonge Street, just a block away from Yonge-Dundas Square.

In February 2023, Panera Bread closed another location at 5935 Mavis Road in Mississauga.

Fans of Panera Bread who reside in the heart of the city currently have limited options when it comes to enjoying the chain’s meals on demand, with the only remaining restaurants being located in Barrie, Belleville, Kingston, Markham, Mississauga, Oakville, Oshawa, Ottawa, and Whitby.

blogTO reached out to Panera Bread to determine the reasoning behind this most recent closure in Toronto but did not receive a response back in time for this article.