MOUNT VERNON — The Panera Bread drive-thru located at 1555 Coshocton Avenue in Mount Vernon will close Sept. 1.
The location opened its doors August 2014. It has since served thousands of residents and provided employment for dozens of individuals.
The closure is due to underperformance in sales, according to Matthew Herron.
‘Everyone’s scrambling’
Herron, a shift supervisor, celebrated one year at the Panera Bread location last month. He first heard of the closure on Aug. 19 alongside other employees.
Herron said the closure will effect around 20 workers.
“It’s rough with such short notice, everyone’s scrambling to find jobs,” Herron said. “The options they gave us were insanely limited.”
Employees were not given an option to cash out accrued paid time off. They also did not receive severance pay, he said.
“They gave us an early 401k withdrawal, which most of us did not have,” Herron said. “The other option was filing for unemployment … Other than that, they offered a transfer.”
The nearest Panera is located in Sunbury, 30 miles from the Mount Vernon location. Herron said for many employees it’s not worth the extra mileage.
The average hourly wage at Panera Bread ranges from $12 to $15, but there is more than money being lost.
“The main thing I care about is that everyone knows how close we were as co-workers,” Herron said.
Herron described the team as a “family” that he could rely on to understand personal matters, or needing time off.
“It’s been one of the best years of my life, having those people and going into work every day and being happy with them no mater what we had to deal with,” Herron said.
Herron said the closure will also hurt regular customers.
“We’ve had so many devastated customers that go there every day,” he said. “It’s a place for them to sit down and eat. It’s peaceful.”
The restaurant will remain open until September 1. It is not yet known what will replace the business.
Covelli Enterprises, which owns and operates the Mount Vernon Panera Bread, did not respond to a request for comment.
