Kaleida Health has signed a deal with a national restaurant chain to take over ground floor retail operations at the John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital.
Panera Bread will replace Tim Horton’s inside the 12-story hospital at 818 Ellicott St. on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, with an opening expected by year-end.
The buildout of the space comes with a $1.1 million price tag, according to a building permit issued by the city Aug. 19.
It will become the second Buffalo location for the bread company, which also operates a franchise site at 765 Elmwood Ave. in the city’s Elmwood Village neighborhood.
Tim Hortons Café & Bake Shop had operated in the space since Oishei Children’s Hospital opened seven years ago, replacing the former Women & Children’s Hospital site on Bryant Street. The Tim Hortons closed at the site early this year.
The transition to Panera will expand breakfast and lunch options at the hospital: The menu offers sandwiches, salads and soups, as well as fresh-baked bread, muffins, bagels and cookies and a full menu of coffee drinks and smoothies.
Founded in 1987, the fast-casual restaurant also has local sites in Amherst, Blasdell, Cheektowaga, Lakewood, Lockport, Niagara Falls, Orchard Park, Tonawanda and Williamsville.
Other food options at the hospital include a Joe’s Deli location, open since 2017, a hospital cafeteria shared with Buffalo General Medical Center, and vending machines.