A new Panera Bread location and dance studio will be coming to Murphy.

Murphy City Councilmembers on Tuesday approved a specific use permit to allow a restaurant with a drive-thru for a Panera Bread to be located at 103 W. FM 544, where a Walgreens used to operate. City officials said the new building would have approximately 8,900 square feet.

Panera Bread, a national fast-casual brand, serves sandwiches, soup and other cuisine. This unit will be corporate owned.

City officials said the 3,500 square foot restaurant will also have a 750-square-foot patio. The remainder of the building, approximately 5,400 square feet, will be used as a combination of service uses or a restaurant (with no drive-thru).

The dance studio, to be called The Kaiser Center for the Performing Arts and be located at 104 N. Murphy Road, will target youths but also will be a place where adults can get lessons. Councilmembers approved amending the Planned Development ordinance to permit the use “Dance Studio” for property located at 104 N. Murphy Road. KCPA will operate in the space that used to contain the Tuesday Morning retail operation.

Also Tuesday, the council held a work session to discuss how the city would spend $4.47 million of the recent stimulus money approved by President Joe Biden. The money would go toward some targeted infrastructure projects.

The council also heard human resources director Jana Ventura is leaving City Hall, as she is heading for a job in the private sector. She has been with the city for seven years. An interim HR director will take over duties until a permanent head is found, which City Manager Mike Castro said he hopes will be soon.

For more coverage of the meeting, see the May 13 edition of the Murphy Monitor.

By Don Munsch [email protected]