Brand new Panera located off of west Tyvola where the old Hornets Coliseum used to be. The complexity of apartments, hotels, and now restaurants should be a welcome change from the imploded arena site.
This Panera has a drive thru... and a nicely sized out door seating area with tables and umbrellas.
I was super surprised that the inside finding area only has about 12 or so tables, so I can imagine this place getting slammed during peak meal times. It's still rather nice and has the "new paint smell". The typical Panera decor is here with warm woods and clean white plates.
The staff is friendly and I think they designed this place with their business model in mind as far as the large case of pastries and registers up on the right and then the buzzers and number system so the runners can find you in the dining area.
The drive-thru line looks like it can handle a good amount of cars... so probably just another way to serve people and not have to leave your car. The drive thru also wraps around the building so be careful walking up to the building.