A new restaurant is coming to the former Old Country Buffet on West Canal Drive in Kennewick.

Panera Bread is set to open there next year, and the revamped building also will have space for one to two more tenants, the developer confirmed.

The building at 6821 W. Canal Drive is close to the planned Chick-fil-A, also set to open along Canal.

“Between those two restaurants (Panera and Chick-fil-A) and what’s already there, Canal is quickly becoming a new food destination,” said Chris Waddle, lead developer of Hogback Development Company in Yakima.

His company is redeveloping the former Old Country Buffet building.

The price tag for the project is about $4.2 million.

Waddle said the project will include “a fair amount of demolition,” and a permit for that work has just been pulled. Construction likely won’t start for a few months.

Evolv Design Collective is the architect and Stephens & Sons is the general contractor.

Harvey Prickett of Evolv, which is based in downtown Kennewick, said his company is excited to be involved in the project. “We’re all about urban facelift, urban renewal,” he said.

The Panera space will be about 3,800 square feet and have a drive-thru, Prickett said.

The remaining space for lease will be about 4,000 square feet, he said.

Panera Bread is a popular national restaurant chain known for its sandwiches, soups and bakery treats, among other items. It has more than 2,100 locations around the U.S., including one in the Queensgate area of Richland. Its corporate headquarters are in Missouri.

The new Chick-fil-A restaurant is in the works for 7009 W. Canal Drive, just over Crosswind Boulevard from the future Panera. It will be the first Chick-fil-A in the Tri-Cities.

Officials from the Georgia-based fast-food chain confirmed they’re actively pursuing the Kennewick location. “We look forward to working with the city of Kennewick and are excited by the prospect of joining this community. We hope to have the opportunity to serve new guests delicious food in an environment of genuine hospitality,” they said.

Old Country Buffet once had two locations in Kennewick. The location by the Columbia Center mall closed about five years ago, and the Canal Drive location eventually followed.

The restaurant chain’s parent company filed for bankruptcy in 2021.