Sources: Panera Bread 'coming to Raeford Road'

Panera Bread looks to be eyeing expansion into the Raeford Road corridor in Fayetteville.

Should it happen, a couple of sources said Friday, the company's third location in the city would likely not open for another two years.

Panera Bread currently operates stores at 1933 Skibo Road and 4807 Ramsey Street. A manager at one of those sites referred all inquiries to corporate media.

Corporate media for Panera Bread did not respond to emails sent Friday.

Apparently, Panera Bread has at least a couple of locations in mind on Raeford Road, including the site of an existing business, sources said. "The concern is they haven't made the decision," said one source, who has inside knowledge of the pending franchise expansion. If the current business is announced at this time as being in the mix, he added, "The owner is concerned it will kill his business."

According to the source, the expansion plans on Raeford Road are in the preliminary stages, with initial paperwork having been submitted to the technical review committee of the city planning board.

"They are coming to Raeford Road," the source said.

One of the key commercial real estate brokers handling the acquisition of the real estate, who also asked to remain anonymous, said his company is "working on multiple sites along Raeford Road. Panera Bread does have interest in locating there. If it all goes well, the store opening will be within 24 months."

In the surrounding area, Panera Bread also has stores in Lumberton and Aberdeen.

According to the company website, "What started as a 400-square-foot cookie store in Boston has grown into a company with more than 2,300 units, nearly $6 billion in system-wide sales and over 100,000 associates."

Another Circle K in the works

Strictly Business has fielded a smattering of emails regarding the ongoing construction work at the intersection of Murchison Road and Pamalee Drive.

A sign has been posted by Murchison, saying a Circle K is opening soon at the busy intersection.

One reader had wished for a Sheetz, but thus far, Fayetteville has eluded that gas and convenience retailer's reach. The closest Sheetz to Fayetteville is on Pine Street in Lillington, near Central Harnett Hospital.

Vicky's selling chicken and waffles

Vicky's, the former Biscuit Kitchen on Grove Street, has added chicken and waffles to its menu.

The downtown restaurant added the dish in September, owner Vicky Rincon said, just to do something different. The sweet-and-crispy combination has long been a favorite in soul food and Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine quarters.

Rincon, however, is not so keen on the idea.

"It's not something I would want, but people ask for it," she said Friday. "A waffle and chicken, when I first heard about it, I was like, 'Oh, my God. Do people really eat that?' "

Sales have been good, she reported. Customers are ordering the chicken and waffles and just the waffles by themselves. Fried chicken is nothing new to Vicky's menu.

The price is $7.99, and diners get their choice of white or dark meat along with the Belgian waffle and syrup.

"I'm going to keep it on the menu," she said. "This month, I've got the grits bowl. That's going pretty good, too."

The Babann's Southern Fried Chicken food truck, too, offers chicken and waffles when it makes the rounds in Fayetteville and the surrounding area.

Ramsey Street gets new pizza parlor

The new Marco's Pizza in Ramsey Plaza on Ramsey Street is holding its grand opening Saturday.

Some people are not familiar with Marco's Pizza, but the chain serves up quality Italian-American products at reasonable prices. The pizza is really good, and my wife is partial to their chicken wings.

Dee Dee and Sean Stanley, the mother and son owners, have now opened five of the pizza restaurants in Fayetteville, Spring Lake and Hope Mills. The first was in Hope Mills in 2007.

This latest one, in front of the Fairfield Inn at 4251 Ramsey, features a new design, a contemporary Milan-theme interior with bolder colors and wood grain tiles. "It is different," Dee Dee Stanley said. "Most of the Marcos are in a Tuscan theme."

So another pizza joint has opened in Fayetteville: What makes Marco's different from the multitude of others?

"Just, we make our dough fresh every day," she said. "Our cheese is blended mozzarella, provolone and Muenster."

Hours are 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 12:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Like the location on McPherson Church Road, the Ramsey Marco's offers dine-in seating.

See something sprouting up, have tips, questions or comments for Strictly Business? Contact staff writer Michael Futch at mfutch@fayobserver.com or 486-3529.

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