JGTS LLC, a real estate company owned by Panera Bread franchisees Jim and Gaynell Magers, this week closed on the purchase of a vacant lot on East Sunshine Street where they plan to build a free-standing restaurant.
Their franchise company, Traditional Bakery Inc., would run the operation at 2641 E. Sunshine St. JGTS bought the nearly 1.3-acre property this week that had been listed by R.B. Murray Co. Vice President Ross Murray for $1 million. The seller was the Alcancia family.
Traditional Bakery President Brian Camey said JGTS would serve as contractor on the roughly 5,000-square-foot cafe with a goal to open in the fourth quarter. Similar to its new location on South Campbell Avenue, the store would have a drive-thru.
The company would consolidate its nearby 35-employee Panera Bread in the Southern Hills Shopping Center and add another 25 employees.
“We expect our sales to increase by a substantial amount,” Camey said, declining to disclose the land’s purchase price. “It’s on the correct side of the street for morning business.”
Camey said the building would cost between $800,000 and $1 million to complete.
In September, JGTS and Traditional Bakery opened a free-standing store at 4100 S. Campbell Ave., the former site of Carlos O’Kelly’s Mexican Cafe. The Panera franchise occupies 5,000 square feet of the 8,000-square-foot multitenant retail center. The restaurant consolidated the nearby Panera at 3837 S. Campbell Ave.
