Panera Bread already has restaurants on Lawndale Drive in Greensboro and on Eastchester Drive in High Point, and could expand into Winston-Salem, Burlington, Kernersville and Asheville, Bartlett says. Panera Bread offers an array of breads, bagels and other baked goods, as well as sandwiches, soups and salads. A spokesman at the restaurant this week had no comment on the closing, including whether being sandwiched between Panera Bread to the north and the Atlanta Bread Company to the south had any effect on its business. Cracker Barrel is exploring the possibility of building a restaurant in the city's Center Point Plaza, Asheboro officials say. The corporation won't comment on its plans.
City officials say the project has been discussed off and on for five years.
Meanwhile, Asheboro's restaurant scene continues to perk. The project had been delayed by cold and wet weather for the past several weeks. Zoo City Cafe will soon become Zoo City Salvadoran International, when the restaurant changes hand. The sandwich shop at Fayetteville and Worth streets is being sold by Asheboro businessman Jimi Luther to Blanca Ortiz and her son, Hever Ortiz, immigrants from El Salvador. The Ortizes moved to Asheboro from Los Angeles in 1994.