Panera Bread opens in Upland tomorrow

Get to bed early Panera Bread fans, because the newest location opens tomorrow (December 20) in Upland.

The first 25 customers each day tomorrow through Sunday (December 22) will receive a stainless steel Panera Bread coffee mug and a voucher for free coffee for a week.

The location is also partnering with Second Harvest Food Bank. All customer donations to the Panera Cares Community Breadbox will go to the organization, and Panera will match a portion of those funds.

Half of the donations will be used to help fund soup procurement and the other half will be given as cash to support the food bank’s efforts to feed the hungry.

In addition, Panera Bread has donated unsold bread and baked goods to local Southern California hunger relief organizations through its Day-End Dough-Nation program. Collectively, Panera locations nationwide donated a retail value of approximately $100 million in unsold goods last year.

The new location will employ 60 people.

The Upland Panera Bread bakery cafe is at 1053 E. 19th St., Suite C, in the Colonies Crossroads. Regular store hours are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Panera will eventually be joined by Chipotle, The Habit Burger Grill and Pick Up Stix.