Dillon Town Manager Nathan Johnson told the Town Council on Tuesday, March 7, that the new Panera Bread location has proposed an opening date of March 27.

At the meeting, the council unanimously approved a third amendment to an economic development agreement for the project. That agreement — which provides a sales tax incentive for Panera — has a termination date of June 30, if the location has not opened by that time.

“I would hope that they would open in March,” Johnson said. “It might be a good time, especially with like mud season coming up.”

The council first approved an economic development agreement related to the Panera Bread location on Oct. 2, 2018, under which the developers could be reimbursed $400,000 in sales taxes over 10 years.

But the opening of the location at 257 Dillon Ridge Road has been pushed back several times, with Panera Bread representatives citing issues related to the pandemic as the reason for the delay.

​​“We faced some challenges — a lot due to the pandemic with sourcing materials and things like that,” Panera Bread marketing manager Meghan Anderson said last month. “But we are planning on opening.”

Anderson could not provide an exact opening date for the location last month but said she expects the new Panera Bread to open within the next six months. She did not return a request for comment Wednesday.

The Panera Bread location will include a drive-thru and seat 94 people. It will feature unique design elements not typical of other locations to highlight “the ski-town vibe,” Anderson previously said. Panera Bread is in the process of hiring 60 people to work at the location, she said.