KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — A little more than a year after both Katy-area Panera Bread restaurants abruptly closed, the bakery-café chain is completing its local comeback Wednesday with the reopening of its Katy Freeway location near Fry Road.
The restaurant at 19506 Katy Freeway opens at 6 a.m. Oct. 21, with the first 100 qualifying dine-in customers receiving certificates for free meals once a month for a year.
According to an announcement Panera Bread submitted to the Covering Katy community calendar, customers must make a purchase and dine in to receive a free You Pick Two certificate, redeemable once a month for 12 months. The offer is available while supplies last.
The reopening follows the Aug. 5 return of Panera Bread at 25546 Kingsland Blvd., restoring both Katy-area restaurants that closed in August 2025 amid a dispute involving their former franchise operator.
Read our story about the Kigsland location reopening
Why Katy’s Panera restaurants closed
The two restaurants were among 15 Houston-area Panera Bread locations that closed in August 2025 following a legal dispute between Panera Bread and franchise operator EYM Café of Texas.
EYM lost its franchise rights and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The closures left Katy-area customers without a Panera Bread restaurant. A third location at LaCenterra at Cinco Ranch had already closed in 2023 after its lease ended.
Hamra Enterprises, a Missouri-based franchise operator that has operated Panera Bread restaurants since 1998, subsequently purchased seven former Houston-area locations in a November 2025 bankruptcy sale.
Seven restaurants part of Houston-area comeback
The Katy Freeway reopening is part of Hamra’s larger effort to restore Panera Bread service across the Houston region.
The company opened its first Texas-operated Panera restaurant July 16 on Rayford Road in Spring, followed by the Kingsland Boulevard location in Katy on Aug. 5.
With Wednesday’s reopening, three of the seven restaurants in Hamra’s announced expansion have confirmed opening dates.
Four additional restaurants are included in the company’s plans, with locations along FM 1960, Tomball Parkway and the Northwest Freeway in Houston, as well as West Davis Street in Conroe. Their current reopening status has not been independently confirmed.
Hamra previously announced plans to have all seven restaurants operating by the end of 2026.
The expansion is the largest single-market launch in the company’s history and marks the return of Panera Bread to communities affected by the previous franchise operator’s shutdowns.
Dining and Cooking