Panera Cafe is headed to the ground floor of The Hale, the 500-unit luxury apartment tower at 1150 First St. NE, filling the retail bay next to an existing Chipotle in one of NoMa's busiest residential blocks.
Construction is already underway in the space, according to PoPville, which reported the tenant identification on Aug. 17 based on community tips and visible signage. No opening date has been set.
The "Panera Cafe" branding may indicate a smaller, beverage-focused format emphasizing coffee, tea and cold drinks rather than the full sandwich-and-soup menu found at standard Panera Bread locations, according to the menu-tracking site panera-menu.com. Panera Bread has not confirmed the format. The chain, owned by JAB Holding Company, operates more than 2,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada.
The building
The Hale was developed by Carmel Partners, which acquired the site in January 2019. The 15-story building offers 12,649 square feet of ground-floor retail. Of its 500 units, 150 are set aside as workforce housing at 100% of the Area Median Income under a Fannie Mae financing program.
Greystar manages the property. Ted's Bulletin holds a D.C. alcohol license at 1005 First St. NE, according to March 2026 licensing records, illustrating the corridor's existing restaurant presence.
NoMa's retail picture
The new lease comes as NoMa continues to absorb residents at a rapid clip. The NoMa Business Improvement District said in April that the 20002 zip code topped the nation as the fastest-growing destination for new residents. The BID's development tracker lists more than 27 million square feet of completed development in the neighborhood as of late 2025, with another 13 million square feet planned. The area had 437,000 square feet of occupied retail and 6,400 apartments, including 1,900 under construction, at that time.
A mid-Atlantic retail analysis by REBusiness Online noted that federal workforce reductions reshaped weekday foot traffic for restaurants and cafés across D.C., making new retail commitments in residential-heavy corridors like NoMa a notable signal.
No opening timeline, building permit or official statement from Carmel Partners, Greystar or Panera Bread was available as of Aug. 19. Residents can watch for updates through D.C. permit filings.
