Panera Bread now open in Alabaster, Tropical Smoothie Cafe coming soon

This summer, Alabaster’s Shoppes at District 31 development, situated near I-65 off Highway 31, continues to welcome a variety of exciting new dining options.

Here are the details on the two most recent restaurant openings.

Panera Bread opened Aug. 6

Panera Bread launched its 9th Birmingham-metro location Thursday, Aug. 6. The new eatery is located at the Shoppes at District 31 site at 725 1st Street South.

Well-known for its selection of sandwiches, soups, breads and baked goods, the popular restaurant operates from 6AM to 9PM, Monday through Saturday. On Sundays, they open one hour later at 7AM in the morning and close at 9PM.

Visitors to the new Panera will notice a spacious dining room, and the food is as fresh as ever.

Coming up next: Tropical Smoothie Cafe

The Shoppes at District 31 in Alabaster has been opening a new restaurant roughly every two weeks this summer. Tropical Smoothie Cafe is scheduled to officially open Friday, Aug. 14, according to the developer’s Facebook page.

Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, this marks the chain’s seventh location within the Birmingham-metro area.

As a fast-casual dining option focused on health-conscious choices, Tropical Smoothie’s menu features items such as:

• Fruit + acai bowls
• An assortment of “toasted snack rolls”
• Smoothies made with fruit + super veggies

New development will host at least 7 restaurants

The trendy development has already opened the following eateries since the start of summer:

• First Watch (June 17)
• Nothing Bundt Cakes (June 22)
• Chipotle (July 20)

Beyond the five restaurants highlighted here, the development has announced plans to bring in a Cava and the second Shake Shack location for the Birmingham-metro area.

This is just the beginning — the Shoppes at District 31 is the first phase of a massive 75-acre, $242 million mixed-use development that will eventually include retail, dining and more.