Panera to give away free coffee Wednesday morning

All Panera Bread locations in Boston and Cambridge will offer free coffee on Wednesday morning February 1st from 7am-9am as the fast-casual restaurant chain kicks off its "Wake Up Wednesdays" promotion. During February Panera will be making its way around the Boston area to delight commuters and outdoor workers with drinks and treats from the bakery-cafe. On Tuesday they will also be giving out free coffee and baked goods from 7am-9am outside of the Government Center T station. Future locations will be determined based on input received on the Panera Facebook page.

Panera Bread will be coming soon to Boston's Theater District.

Cinquecento coming soon to South End

The Aquitaine Group (Gaslight, Aquitaine, Metropolis, Union Bar) will soon open Cinquecento, a mid-price Itlalian restaurant in the former Rocca space at 500 Harrison Avenue reports The Boston Globe, Grubstreet Boston & Boston Restaurant Talk today. The word cinquecento is Italian for five hundred.

Rocca closed in December, 2010.

Frozen Fenway brings millions to local economy

The Boston Business Journal reports today that this month's Frozen Fenway events brought nearly $29 million in spending to the Greater Boston economy. The 16-day event brought nearly 90,000 people into Fenway Park for college and high school hockey games as well as skating sessions held in between.

"An event like the Sun Life Frozen Fenway games has a huge impact on our visitor industry, helping drive business during a time that is generally slow for travel and tourism in Boston," said Pat Moscaritolo, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, in a statement.

Frozen Fenway was first held in 2010 when the NHL Winter Classic was played at Fenway Park. Maybe it should become an annual event?

Legal head to advise Boston Fed

Legal Seafoods President and CEO Roger Berkowitz has been elected to the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston board of directors reports The Boston Herald today.

Current panel members include Suffolk Construction Co. chief John Fish, Eastern Bank CEO Richard Holbrook and Catherine D’Amato, head of the Greater Boston Food Bank.

Chefs For Obama takes place Tuesday

Chefs For Obama, a cooking competition and food tasting event to support Obama for America, will be held at The Cyclorama in the South End at 6:30pm on Tuesday January 31st. Celebrity judges will include Governor Deval Patrick, his wife Diane, and Ming Tsai of Blue Ginger.

Participating in the competition are Jody Adams, Jamie Bissonnette, Chris Coombs, Evan DeLuty, Tiffani Faison, Will Gilson, Gordon Hamersley, Barbara Lynch, Barry Maiden, Seth Morrison, Rebecca Newell, Marc Orfaly, Brian Reyelt, and Ting Wen Yen. Tickets start at $250.