By B.C. Manion
Panera Bread is gearing up for a two-day hiring event for its new location at The Shops at Wiregrass, which is expected to open Jan. 10.
The bakery-café, which has already begun hiring, will have the events on Dec. 14 and Dec. 15 to continue filling the 60 needed positions.
The hiring events are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 14 and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 15. Recruiters will be on-site at 28332 Willet Way in Wesley Chapel. Available positions include bakery opener, sandwich line, cashier, food prep, dining room, dishwasher and third-shift baker.
The 4,500-square-foot restaurant will have seating for 107 people.
“We are excited to be opening our newest bakery-café in such a dynamic community and are thrilled to be a part of the open-air retail and entertainment environment that The Shops at Wiregrass offers,” Kevin Ricci, operating partner of Covelli Family Limited Partnership, a franchisee of Panera, said in a release. “We are proud to offer the many shoppers, business professionals, families and residents in the community fresh and wholesome food choices paired with the convenient service their busy schedules demand.”
Panera is pleased to be branching into the Wesley Chapel and New Tampa area, Ricci added.
Covelli Enterprises owns and operates more than 200 Panera Bread bakery-cafés in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Florida and Canada.
Vikki Kaiser, director of marketing and public relations for Covelli, said the restaurant chain considers The Shops at Wiregrass to be an ideal location.
“The unique blend of shopping, business and the surrounding residential community that The Shops at Wiregrass offers is a perfect complement for Panera Bread,” Kaiser wrote in an email. “We want our customers to feel like this location is their own neighborhood bakery-café.”
The Panera Bread at The Shops at Wiregrass will be open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and all hours in between, Kaiser said.
The bakery-café also offers free Wi-Fi Internet access and a catering menu for meetings, events and parties.
Unlike other Panera Bread locations, the one at The Shops at Wiregrass will feature table service, Kaiser said. Customers will order their food at the register and a Panera associate will deliver it to their tables.
“We hope that our customers will enjoy this feature, especially if their hands are full with packages after a busy day of shopping,” Kaiser said.
Those interested in applying for work can apply at www.panerabread.jobs or attend the hiring events.
