LUMBERTON — Local folks won’t have to travel outside Robeson County for a toasty sandwich or a new pillow-top mattress.
City officials last week confirmed that a Panera Bread restaurant and a Mattress Firm store will soon occupy the vacant Office Depot building on Fayetteville Road. For many years, the closest Panera Bread and Mattress Firm locations have been on Skibo Road in Fayetteville.
The Office Depot space became vacant Jan. 23 after the office supply store was shuttered as part of a company-wide consolidation. The Lumberton location was one of almost 400 stores closed by the company since 2014.
“One of the critical priorities for Office Depot Inc. continues to be rationalizing our store footprint in North America,” Julianne Embry, the company’s senior manager of Public Relations, recently told The Robesonian.
Brandon Love, director of Planning and Neighborhood Services for the city of Lumberton, said that the almost 24,000- square-foot building is expected to be partitioned into three storefronts.
Panera Bread will set up shop inside a 4,297 square-foot section of the building. Mattress Firm will take over a 5,404 square-foot space. A tenant has not yet been announced for the third storefront, which is 3,895 square feet.
Panera Bread offers soups, salads, sandwiches and pasta, but the bakery-style restaurant is perhaps best known for its pastries and sweets. headquartered in Missouri, the chain operates more than 1,800 locations across the U.S.
Mattress Firm sells adjustable beds, furniture and mattresses. The Texas-based retailer offers several financing options, including a 48-month plan and a 90-day payment option. There are more than 2,100 Mattress Firm locations across the U.S.
Spokespeople for Mattress Firm and Panera Bread did not return calls from The Robesonian, but Love said it could be a while before the businesses are ready to open in Lumberton.
“There isn’t a timeline yet as to when all of this will start,” he said.
