35 years ago, Panera Bread grew from a single cookie shop into a chain of over two thousand
bakery-cafes. These days, Panera employs ten thousand employees and rakes in more than
five billion dollars a year. This chain of eateries is all about embracing change to
meet the needs of customers. If you're a Panera fan, you'll enjoy discovering the Top
10 Untold Truths Of Panera Bread.
Panera Bread - An Origin Story
During the 80s, the company's founder, Ron Shaich, owned a cookie store and decided to
merge it with a bakery. The end result was Au Bon Pain Co. Inc. A short time later, he
and his business partner, Louis Kane, who has now passed away, began to visualize a
new direction, which included more than cookies and croissants. They wanted to sell sandwiches
with upscale appeal. By 1991, Au Bon Pain Co. Inc. was successful enough to be traded
publicly. In 1993, the company acquired the Saint Louis Bread Company, which had nineteen
shops. By the mid-1990s, a lot of people were looking for food that wasn't typical processed
fast food fare. Ron wanted to provide these kinds of customers with real food, which was
served by respectful staff in a welcoming environment. He decided to re-brand the Saint
Louis Bread Company as Panera and the rest is history. The chain of bakery-cafes was
now poised to go national. During 1998, Ron realized that Panera was loaded with potential,
but needed more resources. At this point, he chose to sell off his Au Bon Pain Co. Inc.
division and put the proceeds into expanding Panera. His dream of turning Panera into a
popular national chain came true. Panera is known for its wholesome foods, which are free
of trans fats, artificial colors and artificial preservatives. Salads, soups, sandwiches and
baked goods at Panera are definitely comfort food.
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Panera Once Renamed A Soup At Chrissy Teigen's Request
Chrissy is always outspoken on social media and food is one of her favorite topics. She's
a cookbook author, after all. When Panera asked the Food & Drug Administration to clarify
what egg means in food for sale, because the bakery-cafe chain's VIPs believe that only
actual eggs should be labeled as eggs, Chrissy agreed with them. She then suggested jokingly
that Panera should rename its popular Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Delicious Cream Times. Panera
obliged and then proceeded to send Chrissy containers of Broccoli Cheddar soup that featured
Delicious Cream Times labels! That was pretty funny and, of course, Chrissy tweeted about
it. For a while, the company also changed the name of the soup at its official website.
The name wasn't changed at the restaurants. These days, Delicious Cream Time soup is called
Broccoli Cheddar Soup again, but Chrissy can always remember the good times.
Panera Was Once The USA's Largest Provider Of Free Wi-Fi
You probably don't know that Panera was, at one time, the biggest provider of one hundred
percent free Wi-Fi hotspots in America. Panera was the perfect place for people with mobile
devices to hang out. They could enjoy fresh-baked bread, other healthy fares, and free Web connections.
These days, most larger chain restaurants do provide free Wi-Fi to customers, but that
wasn't always the case. Panera was on the cutting edge in terms of offering the ultimate
in Internet connectivity to patrons. Naturally, the company still offers free Wi-Fi to customers,
in addition to great food. To connect to free Wi-Fi at Panera, you won't need to get a password
or a special code from a server. If you're using a laptop while you're at the restaurant,
you will need to enable the wireless adapter on your computer. When it is enabled, accessing
free Wi-Fi should be very easy.
Panera Bakes Their Bread Fresh Every Day
Panera is beloved in large part because of its fresh-baked
bread. The restaurant chain bakes more bread daily than any other similar eatery. Skilled
bakers make each and every loaf from scratch, using premium ingredients. Dough which is
also made by Panera staff members is delivered each day in trucks, to each Panera location,
and the in-store bakers take it from there. Panera is all about best-quality breads and
this is one of the reasons why people get addicted to their food. Panera's artisan approach
to bread-making is something that discerning customers appreciate. Panera fans enjoy savoring
bread that is aromatic, fresh-baked and made with the good stuff, rather than a lot of
processed ingredients. Employees who know everything about the restaurant do have preferences
from the menu, and it's no surprise that their preferences include fresh-baked bread. One
staff favorite is the Steak and Arugula Sandwich, which is meaty and filling, with a unique
flavor profile. The Modern Caprese Sandwich is also a big hit, thanks to its tasty tomato
confit and pesto - and it’s a meat-free option. Employees also enjoy noshing on
Tex-Mex-inspired Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melts. Every year, Panera sells roughly two
hundred and forty million bagels and one hundred and fifty million bread loaves. To make all
of this fresh-baked goodness, the company needs one hundred and forty million pounds
of flour annually.
Certain Panera Menu Items Aren't As Fresh As The Bread
While the bread products sold at Panera are undoubtedly fresh and wholesome, you shouldn't
assume that everything available at Panera is just as fresh. An employee who spilled
the beans about Panera online revealed that the Mac and Cheese is pre-made and arrives
at Panera locations frozen, in bags. It's then heated up in a microwave or in boiling
water. Also, a staff member has passed on a little tip about avocados at Panera. They
are still nice and fresh around lunchtime but tend to sit around for hours afterward
if unused in menu items. So, for the freshest avocado experience, order this ingredient
at lunchtime and avoid it further on in the day. Bear in mind that reports from employees
may be not always be true. They are generally anonymous reports, so there's no way to be
sure that they aren't just stories, rather than facts.
Panera Has A Community Cafe For The Needy
The Panera Cares cafe is a community cafe. It was created to help the needy. It's a non-profit
community cafe run by a public charity called the Panera Bread Foundation. The cafe addresses
an important issue, which is hunger in the community. Statistics from The United States
Department of Agriculture show that one in seven USA households have trouble affording
enough food for household members at some point during the year. To help out, the team
at Panera established a charitable foundation and then opened Panera Cares cafes, which
operate via a "pay what you can" model. Each Panera Cares menu item has a suggested donation
amount. This amount indicates the retail value of the menu item, which is based on the cost
of operating expenses and the cost of feeding patrons who can’t make donations. Customers
who don't make the suggested donation amounts are limited to ordering one drink and entree
each week. Those who can't contribute to their meals may earn meal vouchers, by donating
an hour of their time per week, as volunteers. Of course, it is going to cost a lot to run these
"pay what you can" community cafes. While most customers will be honorable, there are
also those who may game the system. Because the cost of running Panera Cares cafes is
so high, the Panera Bread Foundation had to close some of the cafes down. The truth is
that Panera closed all but one down. Only the Boston location remains open. Initially,
the Panera Cares concept was meant to be self-sustaining. Unfortunately, most of the cafes were losing
money. The self-sustaining model just wasn't working. While the concept of Panera Cares
is noble and beautiful, it was a social experiment that couldn't sustain itself. Hopefully, the
Boston Panera Cares location will stay open.
Panera Gets A High Rating For Healthy Food
Panera was created as an alternative to greasy and unhealthy fast food. This is a bakery-cafe
that definitely provides healthy options to customers. If you're health-conscious and
weight-conscious, you should consider ordering the Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken or the
Black Bean Soup. Other impressively healthy menu items at Panera include Steel Cut Oatmeal
with Almonds, Quinoa and Honey, Strawberry Poppyseed Salad with Chicken and the Mediterranean
Veggie Sandwich. The Avocado, Egg White and Spinach Sandwich is also a good option. If
you're craving a turkey sandwich, order a Roasted Turkey & Avocado BLT. All of this
food sounds great, doesn't it? It's wholesome food that isn't laden with artificial ingredients,
major fat gram counts, and high calories. It's quite possible to eat healthy at Panera.
The restaurant chain's mission was to provide healthy choices for customers who were looking
for something better for their bodies than fast food. While every menu item at Panera
isn't as healthy as the ones we've listed today, there are lots of healthy menu items
to choose from.
Panera Posted Calorie Counts Before Other Eateries Did
Panera was a trailblazer in terms of providing customers with calorie counts for its menu
items. The bakery-cafe chain offered this important information to patrons long before
most restaurant chains did. These days, people are a lot more informed about calorie counts
in food than they used to be. Many people are on special diets, such as Keto diets,
and want calorie counts, in addition to full nutritional information. Panera delivers by
being completely transparent about what's in the food that it sells. Since this company
is all about wholesome food that isn't filled with unhealthy ingredients, the company has
always been proud to share calorie count information with its customers. Panera may have started
a trend, as it's rare nowadays for an eatery not to share calorie count information. Panera
was also the first restaurant chain to share whole grain content information with customers.
Also, in 2004, Panera removed antibiotics from their chicken supply and started a new,
Clean Food program in 2016. Panera's open and honest approach to informing customers
is admirable.
There Are Higher-Calorie Options On The Panera Menu
Yes, you can go low-cal at Panera, but you don't have to. If you're looking for more
calories, you’ll have no trouble finding something to order at this bakery-cafe chain.
Some menu items look deceptively healthy but have more calories and fat grams than you
might expect. One example is the Fuji Apple Salad with Chicken. This salad has five hundred
and seventy calories, plus thirty-four fat grams, seven grams of which come from saturated
fat. It also has five hundred and eighty milligrams of sodium and thirty-six grams of carbs. But
you will get twenty-nine grams of protein when you order this tasty salad. While the
chicken used in this menu item is raised antibiotic-free, this salad with chicken and apples is not
the healthiest Panera option. Another menu item with a fairly high-calorie count is the
Cinnamon Crunch Bagel. It contains four hundred and thirty calories, seven grams of fat, 4.5
grams of which comes from saturated fat, three hundred and eighty milligrams of sodium and
a whopping eighty-two grams of carbs. If you put a topping on your Cinnamon Crunch Bagel,
and lots of people opt for cream cheese toppings, the overall calorie and fat gram count is
going to soar even higher. What's most unhealthy about the Cinnamon Crunch Bagel is its sugar
count. It contains thirty-two grams of sugar. That's the equivalent of eight teaspoons of
white sugar. Sure, there are times when it's fun to indulge in foods that aren't as healthy
as other menu item options. However, it's always good to know which menu items are not
diet-friendly. If you want a low-calorie option at Panera, you should avoid the delicious
Mac and Cheese, too. New England Clam Chowder and The Italian On A Hoagie Roll are also
not the healthiest options for weight-conscious customers.
Small Fountain Drinks Are Refillable at Panera
One interesting fact to be aware of is that the small fountain drink at Panera is an awesome
deal because it's refillable. If you usually order bigger fountain drinks, scale back by
going for a small. You may refill it if you're still thirsty when your cup is empty. While
free refills are available, the company believes that patrons need nutritional information
about these drinks. Panera management wants customers to know just how much sugar and
how many calories may be lurking in their fave soft drinks. This is why Panera became
the first restaurant chain to post sugar and calorie counts right on their soda machines.
The founder of Panera says that he's not anti-soft drink, however, he believes that customers
need nutritional information so that they can make informed decisions.
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