SLB of Iowa LC will open a Panera Bread restaurant in the Davis Brown Tower, a spokesman for the company confirmed Tuesday.

It has been rumored for months that Panera would set up shop downtown, but the specific location wasn’t confirmed until a lease signed on April 9 sealed the deal.

The restaurant, which will be owned by SLB, will occupy about 5,700 square feet on the first floor of the 13-story building located at 215 10th St. The space will be St. Louis-based Panera’s seventh location in Greater Des Moines and its first downtown.

“We’re excited to move into Des Moines proper and have our own presence there,” said John Kauffman, Panera’s marketing and public relations manager.

Kauffman said Panera experienced positive sales growth during the recession and is using that capital to expand. Panera had hoped to open the new store this spring, but the company’s stringent site-selection process slowed the initiative.

“We want to make sure we are in the right spot for future growth,” said John Catalano, a project manager with Panera. “We feel like we have a good partnership with the Davis Brown Tower.”

On April 2, Ladco Development Inc. announced that Aviva Investors had leased nearly 66,000 square feet of office space on the Davis Brown Tower’s 10th and 11th floors and plans to move in this fall.

With the arrival of Panera and Aviva, the building will be more than 95 percent occupied.

Though specific terms of the lease agreement were not disclosed, Panera looks forward to having a long-term presence in the area.

“At any location, we are there quite a while,” Catalano said.

Details of the build-out are being finalized. Panera plans to open in late summer or early fall.