Olympia, Washington, mayor Doug Mah helped celebrate the recent opening of Washington’s first Panera Bread drive thru, located at 2525 Capital Mall Drive in Olympia, by breaking a giant baguette with Thurston County Chamber members and Panera employees. Mah presented a proclamation announcing Panera Drive-Thru Day and welcoming customers to the new bakery-cafe by passing out commemorative coffee tumblers to guests at the drive-thru window on Friday, January 28.
To celebrate the opening, the bakery-cafe gave out commemorative stainless steel tumblers and free coffee refills for a year to the first 500 customers who visited the drive thru on Friday morning.
“The response of the community was overwhelming,” says Panera Bread Joint Venture partner Jayson Levich. “We’re thrilled to share the Panera warmth with the Olympia community by providing convenient access to wholesome food.”
The Olympia location is the 16th Panera bakery-cafe in Washington and the first in the state to offer drive-thru service. In 2011, Panera plans to open five more cafes in the state, including two drive-thru locations.
The hours of the Olympia location are Sunday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
