Panera bakes up plans for Coolidge Corner

For more than a year, one of the largest ground-floor retail spaces in Brookline has been shuttered, but the Coolidge Corner spot once occupied by the upscale grocery store Zathmary's soon will be in business again.

Panera Bread, a St. Louis-based chain of more than 1,000 stores in 40 states, is expecting to offer hungry patrons its trademark breads, panini, soups, salads, and smoothies at 299 Harvard St., which is across the street from the Coolidge Corner Theatre.

Construction plans include moving the store entrance back more than 17 feet to allow for "covered outdoor seating," probably patio tables under the original roof, according to Andrew Carlson, a spokesman for the company. The store is scheduled to open in mid-September, he said.

Despite grumbling about national chains opening in the town's most visible commercial area, local officials and merchants are welcoming Panera.

"It's rather exciting," said Marge Amster, the commercial areas coordinator for the town's Economic Development Department. "It will be a real improvement."

Amster said about 30 percent of the 200 storefronts in Coolidge Corner are franchises or branches of companies with nine or more locations.

As long as independent, unique stores have at least 49 percent of the establishments in a commercial area, Amster said, it is considered healthy. She said her summer survey of Coolidge Corner showed a 1 percent increase in chain stores from 2005 to last year, but "the Coolidge Corner area is definitely holding its own."

Independent merchants on the Corner agreed that the store's new tenant is good for the area.

"I don't have an issue with Panera," said Terry Meyers, owner of Cause to Paws pet "boutique shop" on Beacon Street. "It's a huge space and would be tough for an independent store to move into."

Harvey Bravman, an organizer of the Coolidge Corner Merchants Association, concurred.

"It's better than having nothing there. I think the merchants will welcome having a place to have lunch. You can't do that at a cell phone store or a bank."

Still, Bravman noted, if there's a charity event in the neighborhood that needs quick funds, it's almost always just the mom-and-pop businesses that pitch in.

Panera might be the exception. Its chief executive officer, Ron Shaich, lives in Brookline. And the store will be owned by the company, not a franchisee.

"I'm thrilled that we're introducing Panera to this community," Shaich stated in an e-mail. "I think our bakery-cafe will be a terrific fit in Brookline. For example, the Panera menu has been free of man-made trans fat for more than a year, so it's great to be a part of a community that shares the same values."

Brookline Town Meeting passed a ban on trans fat in restaurants during the spring.

Amster said she expects the store to be carefully managed.

"I'm sure it will get a lot of close attention to make sure it is run very, very well," she said. "It will be a real improvement."

Former occupant Zathmary's, which closed in March of last year, was popular with customers. But the company, which also had a shop in Needham, closed when a financing deal to open a store in Boston fell through, co-owner Michael Szathmary told the Globe last year.

Amster has been working to help fill that storefront ever since. Panera, she said, will offer dining variety as well as the deep pockets necessary to survive.

"We're all still sad Zathmary's is gone."

Meyers agreed, but said, "At least it's not another bank. Blocks of banks are bad for business."