New Panera Boardman Store Tops Kutlick’s Recent Deals

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Covelli Enterprises plans to relocate its Panera Bread bakery-café from its longtime location in the Shops at Boardman Park. The project is among several transactions brokered and announced recently by Kutlick Realty, Boardman.

Krista Beniston, Boardman Township director of zoning and development, confirmed that her office received initial plans a few days ago for a free-standing, 4,950-square-foot Panera that would front South Avenue, directly west of Ashley Furniture, in the Tiffany Square shopping center at South and U.S. Route 224.

The Shops at Boardman Park bakery-café is the first Panera that Covelli Enterprises opened in 1998, after ending the company’s longtime affiliation with McDonald’s and becoming a Panera franchisee.

Since then, the Warren-based company has grown to become Panera’s largest franchisee, with more than 300 stores. It opened a second Panera in the township on Market Street in 2014.

The new Panera will have a drive-thru window and an improved parking situation from its current location, Bill Kutlick, broker/owner of Kutick Realty, said. In its current plaza space, the bakery-café can’t offer a drive-through window and it shares parking with other shops on that wing of the retail center.

“The drive-through is the key,” Kutlick said. The new store, which is further east, will provide greater separation from the Market Street café and will be closer to Interstate 680 access.

Kutlick noted that the Chick-fil-A restaurant near where the new Panera will be built is among the top five or so in the chain, from what he hears. “It’s very, very successful. That brings the attention of other retailers,” he remarked.

Panera’s building plan must go through Boardman’s site plan review board, Beniston said. Once that is approved, the company needs to submit an application for a zoning permit and final plan, and also get permitted through Mahoning County.

“We’re at the very early stage of the process on our end,” Beniston said.

Covelli Enterprises representatives could not be reached for comment.

Kutlick Realty also brokered the deal for the Aldi grocery store to open at 2010 Elm Road in Warren. According to Trumbull County building department documents, the 17,054-square-foot project is valued at $1.6 million.

A fall opening is planned for the store, said Corey Stucker, Hinckley Division vice president for Aldi Inc.

The discount grocery chain operates several stores in the Mahoning Valley, including in Austintown, Boardman, Howland, Liberty and Warren.

“We look at a lot of factors before choosing an Aldi location, like population density, proximity to competition, cost of the property and traffic patterns,” Stucker said. “We want to be conveniently located for our shoppers.”

Kutlick also reported his company has signed lease deals bringing the Little Greek Fresh Grill to Boardman. That restaurant and other tenants including a beauty salon and clothing store have taken space in the former Master Park building on Route 224.

The building is now completely leased after being 100% vacant when Kutlick listed it. “We turned that around in eight or nine months,” he said.

Kutlick also signed the lease for Casual Pint to open in the Shops at Boardman Park. He is leasing space at the Marc’s plaza in Poland and for new construction at Western Reserve Road and Market Street in front of Farmers National Bank there.

And he sold Commonwealth Land Title’s building and moved the company to space in Canfield, and sold an office building near Mill Creek Park on Route 224 to Dr. Constantine Economus, who plans to move his practice there.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.