Panera Bread Now Open at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City

Panera Bread is celebrating its grand opening Thursday at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City, mall management has announced.

Panera is part of the mall's food court on the Metro level, one of 18 eateries in the Fashion Centre.

In February, a spokesman for Simon Property Group, which owns the mall, called the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City one of its top-performing properties and said it was "part of the mix" of planned renovations.

Panera now has two locations in Arlington — the other is at Ballston Common Mall — and the business has four other Northern Virginia locations inside the Beltway, including Falls Church, Bailey's Crossroads and two in Alexandria.

"The restaurant’s menu includes a wide variety of year-round favorites complemented by new items introduced seasonally with a goal of creating new standards in everyday food choices," according to a news release.

St. Louis-based Panera was established in 1981. Panera has 1,673 company-owned and franchise-operated restaurants in 44 states and Ontario, Canada, according to the latest information available.

The company aims to open between 115 and 125 new bakery-cafes this year.

The business began as Au Bon Pain Co., and it acquired the Saint Louis Bread Co. in 1993. A few years later, the concept was rebranded as Panera Bread, according to the company's website.

In May 1999, Au Bon Pain Co. sold off all of its business units except Panera, and the company took that as its name. Panera Bread has since acquired Phoenix-based Paradise Bakery & Cafe.