Remodeling is under way at the site of Panera Bread downtown. Company officials signed the lease on May 1. The bakery cafe will fill the former Blockbuster site at Third and F streets.

An opening may come as early as August, according to property owner Shel Givens.

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Another new opening is Yeti Restaurant, formerly Thai Bistro, at 234 E St., in the E Street Plaza. It offers Nepali cuisine.

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Whole Foods Market is still on track to open this fall in the former Borders site in Davis Commons, spokeswoman Jennifer Marples said earlier this month. Management is targeting a late October opening for the 20,000-square-foot Davis store.

“We are still in the early stages of construction,” Marples said. “We have been working on upgrading the underground and overhead utilities and pouring a new slab inside the space, as well as preparing the space for our refrigeration system.”

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Davis Ace Hardware has some big news. It is opening a second hardware store in Davis in Anderson Plaza, the shopping center at West Covell Boulevard and Anderson Road.

According to executive coordinator Carol MacDonald, the 3,500 square-foot neighborhood store will be called Aggie Ace and will carry core hardware products. She said to expect a soft opening in mig-August and a grand opening in September. The space was last occupied by 49er Video.

Meanwhile, some expansion is under way at Davis Ace. The pet department, on the Fourth Street side of its Ace Garden & Pet store, is being remodeled. A temporary store is open across from the Rock Yard, at 912 Fifth St., Suite 300 (in the alley between Fifth and Fourth streets). It will be open daily until 6 p.m.

Fish, reptile and bird supplies will stay in the current pet department during the makeover. The transition will take six to eight weeks, MacDonald said.

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El Toro Bravo Mexican Kitchen should open this summer, hopefully by late July, a co-owner said. It replaces the closed Baja Fresh at 237 D St.

The food will be a Mexican fusion style, Derar Zawaydeh said. He defined that as various foods accented with Mexican flavors.

It will have the same “value-driven concept” he and his partner offer at nearby Burgers & Brew and Crepeville. Lunch patrons will order at the counter, while dinner guests can expect full service.

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