Covelli hits 10-year milestone with Panera

WARREN — Panera Bread’s largest franchisee, Covelli Enterprises, will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of opening its first area store Tuesday through Oct. 11.

Covelli Enterprises opened its first Panera Bread Bakery Cafe in Boardman in October of 1998. Ten years later, Covelli Enterprises is now the largest franchisee of Panera Bread in the country, owning 151 Panera Bread Bakery Cafes.

A Warren-based company, Covelli Enterprises has Panera Breads in five local communities, Austintown, Boardman, Canfield, Warren and Hermitage, Pa.

Covelli Enterprises employees some 700 people in the Mahoning Valley and about 19,000 people in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. The firm had revenue of $320 million in 2007, according to Restaurant Finance Monitor.

“It is truly humbling to have had the success that our company has had since we opened our first Panera Bread 10 years ago.” said Sam Covelli, owner/operator of Covelli Enterprises. “We can’t thank the people of the Mahoning Valley enough for all of their support over the years.”

To thank Mahoning Valley customers, the five local Panera Bread locations will have daily promotions Tuesday through Saturday. Promotions include buy one get one free, you pick twos; buy one breakfast sandwich and get one free; one dollar pastries, and the giveaway of thousands of dollars in Panera Bread gift cards.

Panera Bread owns and franchises bakery-cafes under the Panera Bread and Saint Louis Bread Company names.