Another Panera Bread location in Montgomery County appears to be on the way out. The Panera Bread at 219 East Middle Lane in Rockville Town Center is expected to close permanently in the coming weeks, according to an employee who spoke by phone on Monday afternoon. While a specific closing date has not been set, the employee confirmed the shutdown is imminent.
Further signaling the upcoming closure, Willard Retail has confirmed that the space is now being actively marketed for lease, indicating that a replacement tenant has not yet been secured.
The Rockville closure comes as uncertainty continues to surround another local Panera location. As previously reported, the Panera Bread at 18141 Town Center in Olney also appears to be nearing a permanent closure. Multiple employees over the past few weeks have indicated that the Olney location is expected to shut down in late May or early June, with one employee now sharing the store is likely to close at the end of May.
Despite the growing number of reports, communication from corporate has been limited, with outreach efforts going unanswered. There have been signs of movement behind the scenes for months at the Olney location. The space has been listed as “available” in leasing materials since at least last summer, suggesting plans to transition the site have been in motion for some time. More recently, the listing shifted to “negotiating,” pointing to the possibility that a new tenant may already be lined up.
