Panera Bread on Tuesday plans to open its first Pittsburgh-area store with a drive-thru window at McCandless Crossing in the North Hills. Fast casual restaurants, such as Panera, Chipotle and Five Guys, are the fastest-growing segment of the dining industry but still need to find ways to better compete for customers, analysts said. The fast casual segment appeals to customers who do not want table service but want food that is a step up from traditional fast-food dining like McDonald’s. Panera has 1,800 restaurants in the United States and Canada. A drive-thru is “for convenience, for workers in the morning who want coffee and a sandwich quickly,â€? said Bernadette Santucci, spokeswoman for Covelli Enterprises Inc. of Warren, Ohio, which will operate the McCandless store. Covelli Enterprises is the largest Panera franchise operator. It has 260 stores in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kentucky, Florida and Toronto — including 36 in the Pittsburgh area. The McCandless store will have 70 employees, which is more than a store without drive-thru service, Santucci said. Panera’s move to add drive-thru service is aimed at increasing productivity and profit, said Burt P. Flickinger III, a retail analyst at Strategic Resource Group in New York. “With customers waiting in line, profitability is less. The drive-thru increases profit significantly because it gives consumers more and faster options.â€? That’s important because consumers’ median income has declined 8 percent in the past five years, Flickinger said. “Consumers like drive-thru service because there’s less impulse buying than standing in line.â€? Research by NPD Group showed consumer traffic at restaurants and food service outlets was flat in the three months ended Sept. 30, but quick-service restaurants categories of fast casual, coffee/doughnut/bagel, and Mexican had an 8 percent gain in traffic compared with a year ago. Panera uses a drive-thru at one-quarter of its stores nationwide, including 37 owned by Covelli, spokeswomen said. In April, the St. Louis-based chain introduced a concept called Panera 2.0, which will use technology for payments, to improve operations and separate “to goâ€? and “eat-inâ€? ordering. A rapid pickup option will allow customers to order online or with a mobile phone and pick up food without waiting in line, the company said. Flickinger said Chipotle has avoided drive-thru service for philosophical reasons and because it tends to operate in higher-density areas. “When Chipotle reaches its second level of growth, it will be more mindful of following Panera’s lead,â€? he predicted. Santucci said there are no plans to retrofit existing Panera’s with a drive-thru window, but they will be included in some new stores. Those will have a food preparation area for drive-thru customers that is separate from the preparation area for eat-in consumers, she said. In addition to Panera, a Tuxedo Junction rental store signed a lease at McCandless Crossing. Other openings will include a Trader Joe’s in February. The complex, developed by AdVenture Development LLC of McCandless, is anchored by Dick’s Sporting Goods, HomeGoods and Cinemark, which opened in early 2014. John D. Oravecz is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Email Newsletters TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.