A Columbia-area Panera Bread is moving to a new location. Here’s where the switch will be

The Bread will soon rise at a different location.

Panera Bread, the national chain known for its sandwiches and bakery items, is set to move its store in the busy Harbison shopping district near Irmo, northwest of Columbia. It will be moving from its current spot at 1007 Bower Parkway to a newly constructed building at 277 Harbison Blvd.

‘We’re moving,” a large sign hanging at the Bower Parkway location announces. “New cafe opening soon at 277 Harbison Blvd.”

The Bower Parkway location is still operating, and an exact date for the move has not been publicly announced. Construction was ongoing at the site at 277 Harbison Blvd. when a reporter briefly went by on Tuesday. While the Bower Parkway location is in a shopping strip, the new Harbison Boulevard spot will be in a freestanding building.

There are more than 2,100 Panera Bread locations across the United States, including several in the Midlands area. Panera Bread is known for its menu of bakery items, sandwiches, salads and bowls, breakfast items, flatbread pizzas and more.

The new Panera on Harbison Boulevard will have a drive-thru and will be out in front of the Harbison Center shopping complex. That shopping center includes Rooms To Go, 2nd & Charles and a number of other retailers. All of it is in the midst of a bustling retail district that sees major traffic. About 29,000 cars per day pass down Harbison Boulevard, per state traffic statistics.