Contractor begins work on two restaurants

Work crews broke ground this week on the planned Panera Bread and Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers locations along the northern edge of Thompson Hills Shopping Center.

The development, announced last July, is being overseen by Eric Cole, vice president of operations for Original Bread Inc., and president of M&M Custard, which operate regional franchises for both companies.

Cole told the Democrat on Wednesday that the buildings are being constructed at the same time, and he expects to have work completed and the businesses open by mid-June.

“We are very excited. This is making progress on the site. A lot of legal stuff takes place behind the scenes, but when you get crews there and tractors on the ground, you finally start to see all that work pay off,” Cole said.

That excitement also is being felt by other Thompson Hills tenants, said Dianne Simon, property manager for EW Thompson Inc.

“They are very excited about Panera and Freddy’s coming in. They are already talking about how to work with them and do some cross-promotion. They are also excited about the additional traffic at the center. We are all looking forward to them being open,” Simon said.

Cole said the Panera operation has already hired three Sedalians for management positions. Once both locations are open, Cole expects Panera to hire about 16 people, including management, and Freddy’s to hire 45 to 50, including management. He said a third to one-half of those positions will be full time.

Hiring is likely to begin in earnest around mid-May, Cole said.

“Somewhere between a month to five weeks before opening, we will put up banners that we are hiring and we will have managers there to interview people,” Cole said.