Panera Opens Third Milwaukee Location
East Side restaurant focuses on streamlined service and takeout.
Panera Bread, 1800 E. North Ave. Photo taken Nov. 19, 2024 by Sophie Bolich.
Many of the East Side’s roads remain closed for construction, but the neighborhood’s new Panera Bread is open for business.
The chain welcomed customers into its third Milwaukee location on Tuesday, offering fresh bagels, sandwiches and coffee to those who braved the morning drizzle.
The new restaurant at 1800 E. North Ave. is digital-only, equipped with self-service ordering kiosks and meals packaged to-go. The streamlined model, first introduced in 2022, aligns with the site’s limited public parking and compact building footprint, which restrict options for dine-in service. Though guests primarily order online or at kiosks, staff are on hand to assist with any issues.
While the dining experience may differ from existing Panera restaurants, the menu remains unchanged, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner options with an emphasis on freshly baked bread and pastries.
A selection of egg sandwiches including Bacon Double Take, Asiago Sausage & Egg and the limited-time Sausage CinnaScramble — served on a halved cinnamon roll — are among the breakfast offerings at Panera, along with a variety of bagels and flavored cream cheeses, avocado toast, oatmeal and yogurt parfaits.
The menu also includes hot sandwiches, deli sandwiches, salads and soup with an optional bread bowl. To drink, the restaurant has smoothies, espresso drinks, coffee, tea and lemonade.
The 1,700-square-foot commercial space, located in the southwest portion of the mixed-use Edge on North building, was previously home to The Waxwing boutique. It’s also the prior site of Pizza Man, which burned down in 2010, prior to the current building’s construction. Alterations to the business began last summer, encompassing a full kitchen build-out, the addition of a single-occupant restroom and equipment installation.
The company also operates restaurants at 600 E. Ogden Ave. and 3511 S. 27th St. in Milwaukee.
Founded in 1987 as St. Louis Bread Co., the chain has since expanded to more than 2,183 locations across the United States and Canada including 41 in Wisconsin. It was renamed Panera Bread in 1997. JAB Holding Company owns the Panera Bread brand, as well as Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels.
The new Panera Bread is open for in-cafe pick-up and delivery Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Existing members must be signed in to see the interactive map. Sign in.
If you think stories like this are important, become a member of Urban Milwaukee and help support real, independent journalism. Plus you get some cool added benefits.
Panera has around 5 other locations within Milwaukee County. It’s misleading to exclude the “city of” Milwaukee, when saying “Milwaukee.” In addition, the metro area expands beyond M-Co into Menominee Falls (Waukesha Co), Mequon (Ozaukee Co), etc.
Instead of a locally-owned, independent business, North Ave gets…this. Bummer.