Au Bon Pain cafe on schedule to open at UD this summer

The University of Dayton's already robust dining options will expand even more this summer with the opening of the Dayton area's first Au Bon Pain bakery and café.

The new bakery and café is “on track” for an August opening in the University of Dayton’s Kennedy Union, a UD spokeswoman said.

And the Boston-based restaurant chain will look for other potential locations in the Dayton region, focusing on hospitals and perhaps other local college campuses. Its closest locations are in Christ Hospital in Cincinnati and in the Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus.

“There are other good opportunities in the region,” Au Bon Pain Chief Development Officer Ed McGraw told this news outlet today, Feb. 15.

Founded in 1978, Au Bon Pain focuses on opening cafes inside universities, transportation centers, malls, museums and urban office buildings all over the world. The chain’s menu focuses on sandwiches, breads, pastries, salads, soups and coffee, and includes low-sodium, low-fat, gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian options.

The addition of Au Bon Pain on the student union’s first floor is part of a broader $7 million renovation to the dining areas of Kennedy Union, ensuring that it will offer the university community “expanded food choices, longer hours, hot breakfasts and significantly increased seating,” UD officials announced last year. The restaurants are open to the public.

RELATED: UD to spend $7M to upgrade dining at Kennedy Union (April 2016)

UD officials say the Kennedy Union, which hadn’t been renovated in 25 years, serves more than 3,500 customers per day.

McGraw said UD is a prime location for Au Bon Pain.

“With 8,700 students plus faculty and staff, it is a very attractive market,” he said. “It’s a great institution, with long traditions. We’re looking forward to becoming the place to meet on campus.”

UD's off-campus dining choices along Brown Street are also expanding, with three additional options currently in the works: R Taco, which is now hiring and is shooting for a mid-March opening; Glo Juice Bar + Café, a new venture from the owners of Butter Café, which could open as early as March; and The Gyro Room, a new Greek restaurant that also could open as early as March.

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About the Author

Mark Fisher

Mark Fisher, a 1981 graduate of Ohio State University and a 1976 graduate of Beavercreek High School, is a third-generation Dayton-area resident who has worked for the Dayton Daily News since 1983. He covered higher education and K-12 education accountability issues for nearly 20 years before taking over the food and dining beat in 2006.