Panera? I don't understand

[Macfrommichigan]

Truly, I am just not a chain guy. However, met a former colleague for lunch yesterday and she wanted to meet at a Panera's. (I ate at one once, years ago, so yesterday was my second visit to a Panera Bread place.)

I don't get it. All the ambiance of an airport bistro or college cafe. Boring sandwiches, salads, soups. Prices seemed high for the meh food. I had something called a heritage ham and swiss sandwich. Pretty tasteless.

Amazingly, to me, the place was doing a very good business. Why? What do folks find attractive about Panera? Help me understand.

Mac

 

[OldGnome]

[QUOTE="Macfrommichigan, post: 10057033, member: 114961"All the ambiance of an airport bistro or college cafe. Boring sandwiches, salads, soups. Prices seemed high for the meh food. I had something called a heritage ham and swiss sandwich. Pretty tasteless.[/QUOTE]

So it was a really nice one. [emoji1623]

I don’t get the fascination with Panera, either.


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[Lightcs1776]

I enjoy their food, or used to until I curbed my bread habit, plus prices went from very reasonable to overly expensive. You used to be able to get a decent sandwich and soup without breaking the bank. Now there are better options for the price.

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[jdp93]

That's one of the few places my little kids like, so we end up going there a fair amount when we go out to eat. I think the food is decent, but nothing that I ever have a craving for. Panera just opened a new store in my town, and it looks completely different. It feels cold and modern compared to the couches and fireplace in the Panera I am used to going to.

 

[Shavely Manden]

I liked the local Panera when I was a teenager, but that was just because the coffee was decent, they had free WiFi, and a friend of mine worked there. More lately...well, their soups are usually decent, and their bagels aren't terrible if you don't have a good local bagel place. Definitely not worth the price, unless your area just doesn't have any alternatives for soup & sandwiches.

 

[MyOldKentuckyHome]

The place literally gives my wife a panic attack trying to decipher the menu

 

[emwolf]

I used to manage an office of 3 fellows and about 20 women. Some Fridays I would buy Panera bagel packs for the staff. I had to get one entirely of the cinnamon crunch bagels with hazelnut cream cheese. For some reason the ladies adored that. My wife and my mother love Panera. The reason it's successful? Chicks dig it.

 

[buyandhold2018]

In my opinion only, the high price, small portions, menu and ambiance cater to a certain kind of person and that type of person likes the fact other types of people don't frequent the restaurant.
I've been a few times and every time felt odd being there, my friends say the same thing.
Sometimes, a business can be very successful just catering to a certain niche audience and basically trying hard NOT to cater to anyone else. Lululemon comes to mind as well.

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[Badgerstate36]

I actually enjoy Panera's food. Their French Onion soup is quite good, IMO. I think that what most people like about Panera is that the food is decent, the prices arent crazy expensive and its a place where you can sit and read a book, study or play on your food/computer for as long as you want and no one is going to bother you to leave.
Panera isnt the end-all, be-all but it is better than most casual, chain, fast food type places.

 

[Shavely Manden]

and its a place where you can sit and read a book, study or play on your food/computer for as long as you want and no one is going to bother you to leave.

That's also one of its downfalls...it's freaking impossible to get a seat in a busy Panera, since all the tables are taken up by some guy with his laptop or college students studying! It's incredibly annoying to be competing for the few remaining seats with the rest of the lunch rush while the guy using Panera as his office is taking up a table and is clearly never going to leave.

 

[Badgerstate36]

That's also one of its downfalls...it's freaking impossible to get a seat in a busy Panera, since all the tables are taken up by some guy with his laptop or college students studying! It's incredibly annoying to be competing for the few remaining seats with the rest of the lunch rush while the guy using Panera as his office is taking up a table and is clearly never going to leave.

Very true, that is one of the downfalls.

 

[Rhody]

I dont get it either. The corporate training cashier's are frankly annoying. Do you want a half sandwich? After i ordered a full. Half sandwich and cup of soup? Pick two. .99 cents for a desert.
minor complaints i know but the sodium levels in their food is a deal breaker for me
everything tastes the same, heavily salted.

 

[Macfrommichigan]

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback! Buyandhold, you might be correct. This Panera was in a shopping center in a bedroom community of sameness, the kind of place where diversity means some guy is driving a Volvo. In any event, I can see no valid reason for ever eating in one again.

 

[KBShave]

it's a rebranded au bon pon the next generation, use to always seem them in malls, metro areas ,airports,college towns etc back in the day, many got converted to paneras. I prefer Jersey Mikes or Jimmy Johns if I'm looking for a sandwich made by a chain.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

I'd think I'd rather go to an Applebees and I'd never set foot in one of those.

We used to frequent an old diner called Kirby lane cafe. The place had a hippy/funk vibe. The coffee was excellent, pancakes were to big for the plate and the bacon was always crispy. When ever my parents came to visit they always wanted to go there. A wait ever time. They lost their lease and moved to a brand new building so I went over to check it out. It was like I walked straight into a McDonald's. The bacon was limp and waiters had no nose rings and green hair. Haven't been back in 5 years.

 

[dctravis]

It's hipster heaven, that's about it.

 

[Rhody]

Its fast food. Thats what sells. They try to fancy it up with a nicer buildout. They also have ipad type ordering so humans are more on the way out. On a positive note you just tap in your order no up selling. Or do you want a .99 cent desert

 

[dctravis]

Panera’s Utopic Pay-What-You-Want Restaurant Dream Is Dead
Got a good chuckle out of this the other day.

My brother and his wife go to Panera all the time where they live. They typically order online and all you do is walk in, grab you bag and go. So they have had the issue several times where someone has simply walked in and grabbed their bag and Panera had to make a new batch of food for them. I honestly don't understand how they stay in business...

 

[oc_in_fw]

You can get a slightly better sandwich (not saying much) at Subway for a cheaper price.

 

[davent]

You can get a slightly better sandwich (not saying much) at Subway for a cheaper price.

I don't think we have Panera up here but Subway is seems almost as ubiquitous as Tim Hortons and i don't eat at either of them, both have a location within spitting distance.

Thanks for the heads up
dave