Panera Bread, other national chains set to open on busy High Ridge Road
STAMFORD — Panera Bread is set to open its first establishment in the city later this year, one of several arrivals on bustling High Ridge Road.
The fast-casual chain’s opening date at 1008 High Ridge has not been finalized yet, but it would be sometime in the summer, according to Jason Wuchiski, of True Commercial Real Estate, who brokered the lease. Panera will take 2,700 square feet in a storefront formerly occupied by a GymSource store.
“The High Ridge/Stamford market has been a priority for years, as it is for many retailers/ restaurants,” Wuchiski, executive director and partner at Fairfield-based True, said in an email. “They expect to enjoy the same success as Chipotle and Jersey Mike’s have enjoyed out of the gates (with their locations on High Ridge). They expect to be strong in all three day parts (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) at this location, in addition to being a major player in catering for Stamford’s large daytime population.”
Stamford, the state’s secondmost-populous city, has been a conspicuous gap in Panera’s footprint in Connecticut, given that it already has 36 locations across the state, according to its website. Its closest establishment to Stamford is in the Interstate 95 northbound service plaza in Darien. Messages left for Panera were not returned.
Wuchiski has brokered the other recently signed leases in the High Ridge building where Panera will operate, including those for a CycleBar establishment that opened last September and the first Attune Med Spa, which is scheduled to open in the summer at 1008 High Ridge.
“As the CEO of Attune, I chose this location because it not only resides in the heart of the city, but is surrounded by many great communities that we hope to soon see as our clients,” Attune CEO Stephanie Joyce said in an email. “We are a wellness med spa, going above and beyond, offering treatments based on smart technology
that is specifically attuned to your health and beauty needs.”
A number of other national chains are planning to expand to High Ridge Road, which is one of the busiest commercial corridors in Connecticut.
At 110 High Ridge, building work is underway on Whole Foods Market’s first store in Stamford. It would take part of a building that was occupied for more than 50 years by Lord + Taylor before the department store’s closing in February 2021.
In response to an inquiry from Hearst Connecticut Media about the time frame for opening the store, a Whole Foods spokesperson said in an email that “it’s still too soon for us to disclose details.”
Within Connecticut, Whole Foods also has stores in Avon, Danbury, Darien, Fairfield, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Milford, West Hartford and Westport.
Last October, a Saks Off 5th department store opened in the north-facing section of 110 High Ridge. It succeeded a Saks Off
5th establishment that had operated from June 2015 to December 2021 at Stamford Town Center.
Adjacent to 110 High Ridge, in a lot at the intersection of High Ridge and Long Ridge roads, plans emerged last year for a number of tenants in an underconstruction complex. Those newcomers at 64 High Ridge would include Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, Shake Shack
and Starbucks.
Frank Pepe’s is planning to open its new establishment at the end of 2023 or beginning of 2024, according to a spokesperson. It will mark the first Pepe’s establishment in Stamford, while it already has locations in Danbury, Fairfield, Manchester, New Haven, Uncasville, Waterbury and West Hartford.
Starbucks has four existing stores in Stamford, including
one at 1079 High Ridge, near Exit 35 of the Merritt Parkway. For Shake Shack, the new location would comprise its first in Stamford, and complement restaurants in Danbury, Darien, New Haven, West Hartford and Westport. Messages left for Shake Shack and Starbucks were not returned.