Panera Bread
File:PaneraLogo.png | |
Company type | Public (Nasdaq: PNRA) |
---|---|
Industry | Restaurants |
Founded | 1981 in Kirkwood, Missouri |
Headquarters | Richmond Heights, MO, United States[1] |
Key people | Ronald M. Shaich, Founder, Chairman & CEO Louis Kane, Founder[1] |
Products | Fast casual/Bakery-café, including several varieties of bread, such as bagels and muffins, cold sandwiches, hot panini, salads, soups, and pizzas |
Revenue | ![]() |
Number of employees | 4,746 full time (December 2005) |
Website | www.panerabread.com |
Panera Bread (Nasdaq: PNRA), is a chain of bakery-café restaurants in the United States which sell breads, sandwiches, soups, and bakery items; some locations offer pizza and a house brand of organic potato chips. Panera can be categorized as a Fast casual restaurant in that it provides higher quality foods with a wider range of flavors and a more comfortable environment compared to fast food businesses. Panera is a joke. It is a fucking rip off.
Corporate history
In 1993, Au Bon Pain Co. purchased the Saint Louis Bread Company and renovated the 20 bakery-cafés in the St. Louis area.[2]
In May 1999, in order to expand Panera Bread into a national chain, Au Bon Pain Co. sold its other chains, including Au Bon Pain, which is now owned by Compass Group North America).[3] Au Bon Pain Co. then renamed itself Panera Bread Company. The company operates or franchises more than 1,020 Panera Bread bakery-cafés in 38 states[2] and 17 manufacturing plants to support the bakery-cafés.
In the St. Louis area, the stores' exteriors are still branded as The St. Louis Bread Company and nicknamed "BreadCo" by locals. Inside, the branding is mixed, with the Panera name on promotional materials and some receipts but "St. Louis Bread Company" on the disposable cups. The menu offerings are identical to Panera-branded restaurants.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7d/Chicago_panera_bread.jpg/225px-Chicago_panera_bread.jpg)
Menu
The restaurant sells several types of bread, including loaves, bagels, and rolls. Sweeter bakery items such as muffins, cookies, croissants, Danish and other pastries are also offered. Drinks include Republic of Tea hot teas, iced tea, self service Coffee urns (one each of Light roast, Dark roast, Hazelnut, and Decaf), several espresso-based beverages, self service fountain soda, and bottled Jones Sodas. Panera had an exclusive distribution deal to sell an early version of Jones' then-new chocolate-flavored soda.
Cold sandwiches and hot panini are also available, along with salads and soups. Parts of the menu are rotated, with seasonal items five times a year, and about two new salads and/or sandwiches at any given time. They also offer four to six types of soup daily, including at least one vegetarian selection, and two seasonal soups, along with French Onion, Broccoli Cheddar, and Chicken Noodle soup. Some Panera locations sell "Crispani", an oval shaped thin-crust gourmet pizza, after 4 p.m. as an evening meal option.
All bread dough is mixed at a fresh dough facility and shipped to each bakery-cafe, to be baked fresh every day.
The soups are made by an outside supplier, but are formulated by and exclusive to Panera.
Internet access
Most locations offer free wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) access to customers. Panera operates the largest free wireless network in the United States.[4] This service includes SonicWALL Internet filtering, which queries a central database before blocking or allowing access by category; the filter has been known to incorrectly categorize sites.[5]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Panera Bread Press Kit". Panera Bread. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
- ^ a b "Our History". Panera Bread. Retrieved 2007-09-19.
- ^ Au Bon Pain: bakery-cafe weighs in on diet fads, offers more healthful fare to concerned customers Nation's Restaurant News, January 31, 2005.
- ^ GoRemote Announces World's Largest Secure Wireless Access Network WirelessDevNet.com, February 7, 2005.
- ^ "SonicWall at Computers OnSale". Computers OnSale. Retrieved 2007-10-25.