Panera Bread might take over the stand-alone building that formerly housed Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar in East Arlington near Queen’s Harbour Yacht & Country Club.
The city calculated an expedited mobility fee of $23,687 for a proposed conversion and addition to the closed Applebee’s at 13201 Atlantic Blvd.
The fee is calculated to mitigate the traffic impact.
Panera, based in St. Louis, has not responded to questions by email or telephone about the location.
The fast-casual bakery-café restaurant operates in a 4,888-square-foot end spot in a building just a half-mile west at 12959 Atlantic Blvd., near Girvin Road.
It’s not clear whether Panera would close that location if it moved into the renovated restaurant building.
The mobility fee application shows that the former Applebee’s would be modified to add about 500 square feet of floor area to allow for a new drive-thru pickup window. Outdoor seating also would be added.
The nearby operating Panera Bread does not offer drive-thru service.
The seat count at the Applebee’s building would be reduced from 160 to 124 and parking would be reduced by about 22 spaces.
The building would be expanded to about 4,600 square feet. It sits on 1.53 acres.
Brightwork Real Estate Inc. owns the property through BW Atlantic 90 LLC. Tampa-based Brightwork also is developing several Wawa gas station and convenience stores in the area.
Atlanta-based GreenbergFarrow, an architecture, planning, engineering and development service firm, is the agent.
Applebee’s closed in July. Brightwork paid $1.7 million for the property in February.
Aldi typically staffs each of its grocery stores with 10-15 employees, which means the 11 locations opened or planned in Jacksonville will employ 110 to 165 people.
Matt Thon, Haines City division vice president for Germany-based Aldi, said the company has “a strong track record of paying our employees market-leading wages and offering benefits well above minimum wage requirements.”
Thon said in an emailed statement that Aldi offers employees compensation that is higher than other grocery retailers and rewards employees with frequent salary increases.
Employees working at least 25 hours a week receive full health insurance benefits and dental coverage, and all employees can participate in the 401(k) program.
Aldi has six stores open in Northeast Florida and will open the seventh June 14 in the Regency area at 9337 Atlantic Blvd.
Four more store sites have been identified.