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Panera Bread

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St. Louis Bread Co.
Company typePublic (Nasdaq: PNRA)
IndustryRestaurants
FoundedKirkwood, Missouri (1981)
FounderLouis Kane
Ken Rosenthal
Ronald M. Shaich
Headquarters
Sunset Hills, Missouri
,
United States[1]
Number of locations
1493
Key people
Ronald M. Shaich
(Executive Chairman)
William W. Moreton
(President and CEO)
ProductsQuick casual/Bakery–café, including several varieties of bread, such as bagels and muffins, cold sandwiches, hot panini, salads, and soups
RevenueIncrease US$1.30 billion (FY 2008)[2]
Increase US$113 million (FY 2008)[2]
Increase US$67.4 million (FY 2008)[2]
Total assetsDecrease US$674 million (FY 2008)[3]
Total equityIncrease US$495 million (FY 2008)[3]
Number of employees
4,746 full time (December 2005)
Websitepanerabread.com

Panera Bread (called St. Louis Bread Company in the St. Louis metropolitan area) is a chain of bakery–café quick casual restaurants in the United States and Canada that sells breads, sandwiches, soups, salads, and other bakery items. Its headquarters are in Sunset Hills, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.[4][5]

Corporate history

Panera Bread in Chicago's South Loop

In 1993, Au Bon Pain Co. purchased the Saint Louis Bread Company, which was founded by Ken Rosenthal. At the same time, the St. Louis Bread Company was renovating its 20 bakery-cafés in the St. Louis area.[6]

In May 1999, to expand Panera Bread into a national restaurant, Au Bon Pain Co. sold its other chains, including Au Bon Pain, which is now owned by Compass Group North America.[7] Au Bon Pain Co. then renamed itself Panera Bread. The company operates or franchises 1,453 Panera Bread bakery-cafés in 40 states[6] and 17 facilities that deliver fresh dough to the bakery-cafés every day. Panera Bread's CEO is William Moreton.

In its headquarters city of St. Louis, Panera Bread still operates under the name St. Louis Bread Company. The St. Louis metropolitan area has over 100 locations.

In 2003, a lawsuit was filed by a former employee who claimed he was fired after allegedly refusing to carry out discriminatory policies set forth by his superiors.[8]

In 2005, Panera ranked 37th on BusinessWeek's list of "Hot Growth Companies", earning $38.6 million with a 42.9% increase in profits.[9][10]

In 2007, Panera Bread purchased a majority stake in Paradise Bakery & Café, a Phoenix-based concept with over 70 locations in 10 states (predominantly in the west and southwest). The Company purchased the balance of Paradise in June 2009.[11]

Panera Bread expanded into Canada, beginning in 2008 with Richmond Hill, Thornhill and Mississauga, all three in the Toronto area.[12][13]

On January 25, 2008, a class action lawsuit was filed against Panera Bread alleging Panera failed to disclose material adverse facts about the company's financial well-being, business relationships, and prospects.[14]

In a 2008 Health magazine study, Panera Bread was judged North America's most healthy fast casual restaurant.[15]

In 2009, the restaurant review service Zagat named Panera one of the most popular restaurants for eating on the go.[16] Panera was also rated #1 for Best Healthy Option,[17] Best Salad,[16] and Best Facilities, among restaurants with fewer than 5,000 locations.[17]

Panera Cares

In 2010, the company's non profit foundation created Panera Cares, a non-profit "Pay what you can" restaurant in its home market of St. Louis. CEO Ron Shaich based the idea on an NBC profile of the SAME Cafe in Denver, Colorado.[18][19] It has since expanded the concept to Dearborn, Michigan, and Portland, Oregon.[20]

Internet access

Most locations offer free wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) (802.11B), access to customers. Panera is the largest provider of free WiFi in the US.[21][22] 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.[23] Many locations restrict the duration of free Wi-Fi to 30 or 60 minutes during peak hours.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Panera Bread Press Kit". Panera Bread. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  2. ^ a b c Panera Bread Company (PNRA) annual SEC income statement filing via Wikinvest
  3. ^ a b Panera Bread Company (PNRA) annual SEC balance sheet filing via Wikinvest
  4. ^ https://www.slcec.com/09-17-10-panera-headquarters-to-draw-375-workers-to-area.html
  5. ^ "Panera tests $16.99 lobster sandwich." Dayton Business Journal. Tuesday August 18, 2009. Retrieved on August 19, 2009.
  6. ^ a b "Our History". Panera Bread. Retrieved 2009-01-21.
  7. ^ Au Bon Pain: bakery-cafe weighs in on diet fads, offers more healthful fare to concerned customers Nation's Restaurant News, January 31, 2005.
  8. ^ The Pitt News. 2003-12-03 http://pittnews.com/newsstory/panera-faces-lawsuit-by-former-employee/. Retrieved 2011-12-12. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ "St. Louis Firms Make BusinessWeek's Hot Growth List". St. Louis Commerce Magazine. 2005-09-01.
  10. ^ "Giving Quick Food A Run For Its Money". Businessweek. 2006-04-17.
  11. ^ "Panera Bread Company Corporate History Page". Panerabread.com. 2010-03-30. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  12. ^ Walkup, Carylyn (2006-06-19). "Panera Bread to launch dinner menu, push toward 1,000 units". Nation's Restaurant News. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  13. ^ Brown, Lisa R (2007-10-26). "Panera Bread headquarters in play". St. Louis Business Journal. Retrieved 2008-03-03.
  14. ^ "Panera faces class-action lawsuit". St. Louis Business Journal. American City Business Journals. February 27, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  15. ^ Minkin, Tracy (February 12, 2009). "America's Healthiest". Health Magazine. Retrieved 2009-05-26. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ a b "The 2009 Zagat Survey". zagat.com. Zagat Survey. 2009. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  17. ^ a b "2009 Awards & Recognition". panerabread.com. Panera Bread. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  18. ^ "Panera Cares". 7 June 2011. msnbc.com. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  19. ^ "Panera: Pay what you can afford - St. Louis Business Journal". Bizjournals.com. 2010-05-18. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  20. ^ "Panera Bread Foundation Celebrates One Year Anniversary of Panera Cares Launch". 2011-5-16. msnbc.com. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
  21. ^ Zumpano, Anthony (2006-10-23). "Panera Bread: flour power". features. brandchannel. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  22. ^ Nowlin, Terrence (2006-11-01). "Plugging into wireless: wireless Internet is making its way into more parks nationwide". Parks & Recreation. National Recreation and Park Association. Retrieved 2007-11-26.
  23. ^ Philips, Eliot (June 18, 2008). "SonicWALL still hates us". hackaday.com. Hack a Day. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
  24. ^ Anderson, Nate (July 10, 2006). "Free WiFi spawns cafe backlash". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
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