Panera is switching headquarters.
The fast casual said in a Tuesday memo that it will move its HQ from Fenton, Missouri—a suburb of St. Louis—to Weston, Massachusetts, about 15 miles west of Boston. The new home base will open in July 2027.
Panera will keep a support center in St. Louis while other corporate workers will be asked to relocate to the Northeast. The brand was founded as the St. Louis Bread Company in 1987 before rebranding as Panera 10 years later.
With the change, the chain will move closer to CEO Paul Carbone, who has spent much of his recent career in the Boston area. Th executive has been based in the market since joining Panera as CFO in August 2023; he’s worked out of Panera’s Needham, Massachusetts, support center.
Previously, he served as CFO of SharkNinja, while based in Needham Heights, Massachusetts, and worked nine years at Dunkin’, which is also based in Boston. Carbone also received a bachelor of science degree in management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, about two hours away from the Boston area.
In the memo, Carbone said the shift is part of Panera RISE, a multi-year transformation involving refreshing the menu, igniting value, serving with better customer service, and expanding the footprint.
As of June 2, Panera had 2,254 locations, company and franchise, in 48 states and Washington D.C., and in Ontario, Canada.
