Staff report

SALISBURY — Panera Bread’s local store plans to launch a delivery service on Sept. 5.

The delivery service will require a minimum order of $5. A delivery charge of $3 will be added. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Breakfast delivery will not be available.

The first delivery order can be placed at 10:30 a.m. and the last order at 7:30 p.m., according to a news release. Deliveries orders can be placed online at panerabread.com or by using the Panera Bread app.

Panera Bread promises to deliver orders within 30 minutes of the time an order is placed within a designated radius, including residences and businesses.

The introduction of the delivery service means as many as 10 people will be hired locally, a news release said. The “delivery team members” will primarily be responsible for delivering orders but will also work in nonservice positions while not making deliveries.

Salisbury isn’t the only city in the Piedmont that will get Panera delivery service. A news release said it’s coming to Burlington, Hickory and Mooresville. Stores in the Piedmont Triad — Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point — will also have delivery service.

Combined, the start of Panera delivery in the North Carolina Piedmont will create 250 jobs at all affected stores, a news release said.

The delivery service will be operated by Covelli Enterprises, an Ohio-based franchisee of Panera Bread. Sam Covelli, owner and CEO of the company, said delivery will make the restaurant’s food “as accessible as it is craveable.”

Covelli launched the delivery service in its Dayton, Ohio, market in June 2016, one of the first cities in the nation to offer Panera Bread delivery. Since then, the company has launched the service in its Northeast and central Ohio markets and plans to launch in its southern Ohio and South Carolina markets later this month.

The company plans to have delivery available throughout its cafes in central and western North Carolina by the end of September.

People interested in a delivery job for Panera can apply by visiting panerabread.jobs. Hiring will continue through October. Applicants may apply at a Panera location within the recommended hours of 2 to 4 p.m. Open interviews will be hosted at some delivery locations.