Millennium Bread Inc. is opening Canada’s first Panera Bread bakery-cafe. Torontonian and Millennium franchise owner, Craig Milne, will be on hand Monday, October 6, to celebrate the new Richmond Hill location.

“When we embarked on the journey to bring Panera Bread to Canada, we made a commitment to ourselves that we would do things right and provide that unique fit with Canadian lifestyles and sensibilities. I believe we have done just that and I’m excited to welcome Canadian guests into the Panera community,” Milne says. “Our team is passionate about providing Toronto with real food rooted in handcrafted, fresh-baked artisan bread, engaging with our guests and the community, and welcoming everyone to our warm and inviting environment.”

The new bakery-cafe at Richmond Hill, the first of three planned to open by early 2009, will open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Milne is also committed to supporting the local community, through the Panera Bread Operation Dough-Nation programs.

“It’s important for us to support the local community,” Milne says. “Our Operation Dough-Nation programs ensure that each cafe gives back to the neighborhood in which our customers and associates live and work. Through our Day-End Dough-Nation effort, unsold bakery products will be packaged at the end of each day and donated to local food banks and charities. We will also match a portion of cash donations made by our customers through our Community Breadbox(TM) program. These funds will then be distributed to a local non-profit organization.”

The Richmond Hill bakery-cafe is located next to Hillcrest Mall on Yonge Street North of 16th Avenue and will be open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. The phone number is 905-508-7155.

Milne says two additional bakery-cafes–one in Mississauga next to the Square One Mall and the other in Thornhill next to the RioCentre Shopping Center–are expected to open by early 2009.