Panera Bread

I usually order from the app which is awesome, never have to wait and usually everything is correct with my order. Bagels are awesome. Love the soup and bread but the sandwiches here are lacking which is why I gave it 3 instead of 5 stars… they are always super sloppily thrown together, to the point where it’s hard to eat it. And the staff is 50/​50, some are super nice then some seem to be completely miserable.
I do wish they had the chicken and wild rice soup more often, it’s rare I see it when I’m here.

Cold in here! Do you guys have heating?
Sticky tables that could use some wipe down. Or do you expect the customers to do that for you? Have you met us?

What happened to this place??? It used to be nice. Now they changed the décor inside making it a cluttered, claustrophobia inducing dump. You can’t see in the bakery or kitchen amy more. They put up 1970s shades of yellow board over all the windows. It looks awful. The food was fine and the cashier who waited on me was nice enough but the hollering, slamming and banging of dishes going on behind the counter in the early morning was nothing short of obnoxious.

Wish I would have read the current reviews for this location before visiting. Steak n cheddar paninni, yuk see pic. Couldn’t eat it, literally left it lay open on my table showing the raw meat picked up my raw apple side and walked out.

Last week my wife and I took our two young girls to this particular Panera location. We usually go to one of the others, the one on Wolf Rd but sometimes we go to this one. This was by far the WORST experience we’ve ever had in a Panera (and quite possibly any casual fast restaurant). Here is the rundown…
1. Walked into a restaurant that was understaffed for sure. Placed our order (tomato soup and grilled cheese, chicken frontega sandwich, two children’s Mac n Cheese, two sodas… pretty much our usual). Was given our buzzer.
2. Went to fill sodas. Soda machine was out of carbonated water so all soda was flat. When I mentioned this to a staff member, it was politely dismissed.
3. 20 minutes (not lying…20 minutes later) our buzzer buzzed. I went to pick up our routine meal and was given a dry, grilled-​on-​one-​side grilled cheese sandwich, my soup, my wife’s sandwich, and two bowls of dry (like crusty) Mac n cheese that looked like they had sat for the whole 20 minutes we waited for them.
4. I approached a staff member and asked to speak to a manager who also happened to be cooking (for the life of me I can’t remember his name). I told him about the Mac n cheese and reacted almost as if he expected me to complain which made me wonder why he sent that food out to begin with. He brushed it off and said he’d make more Mac n cheese.
5. I asked him about the soda machine which at this point still hadn’t been fixed and he basically said «yeah, it’s not working» (why did your staff member sell me two sodas???). I asked him if he thought it would be fixed and he said «well, it won’t be fixed till the guy from the soda company gets here and it’s Labor Day so probably tomorrow…» ??? What? So I said «I’m assuming I’ll get a refund for my sodas?» And he said yes.
As you can see — this was a garbage experience. Enough to make me not want to go back ever. I plan to file a complaint with corporate as well.
Just awful.
Pitiful really.

From the dirty bathrooms and no paper towels, to the poor layout and surly service, this was not a place to go. I know its just a Panera, but this one was way sub-​par.
Oh yeah… The food — I had beef and cheddar on a baguette. Some kind of oily onions, greasy beef, decent slice of cheddar, but at least the bread was fresh.
Too late to turn around, but there was a big curly hair on my sandwich!

The thai chicken salad is great here. There can be very long wait during the lunch hours. The staff are friendly and helpful.

Why are we reviewing Panera? And why are there 5 star reviews at Panera? This is just Panera… Nothing exciting here. Just an average place to grab a bite… 3 stars.

I’ve been here a dozen or so times, at varying times of day. The staff is always friendly, the place is always clean.
It’s always nice that no matter how busy they are, the food is always prepared in about the same amount of time, and always with the same presentation. Never sloppily built and always serves with a smile.
My only minor gripe is that they don’t have sweet tea by the soda fountain, but that’s not worth knocking off a star.

Panera recently announced that they are removing all artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives from their food by 2016.
That’s good news, because Panera was on the verge of becoming a slightly better version of Subway. By that I mean food that is sufficiently tasty, but over processed, and full of junk.
The food at Panera is tasty, and they have lots of interesting menu items. The pick two lunch options are generous for the price, especially if you get a salad as one of your two choices as the salads are quite large. Just don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re healthy. They are not.

I went to Panera last night after working out to grab dinner quickly. I placed my order to go and waited in the area to pick up the orders. It wasn’t busy when I got there but then a large group of kids came in after me. I ordered an apple fuji chicken salad. I waited and waited for a salad. There were bags lined up on the counter but my buzzer didn’t vibrate. At this point I’m tired, was looking for something quick, and just wanted to eat my dinner before showering and going to bed. The woman (probably in her 20’s) was making food and just starring at customers. After about a solid 10 minutes of waiting and no one saying anything, I finally asked what was in the bags at the counter since no one buzzed me. I discovered my salad was placed on the counter for the last 10 minutes as I saw the bag placed there when I was waiting but no one said anything. If the buzzers aren’t working okay, just call out orders. But no, the woman stood there and starred at me like I have telepathic vision and am expected to see through all the bags on the counter and pick which one is mine.
Panera, I get your workers don’t care about service or their job as was evidenced last night between 8:05 — 8:25 PM. I was just on a trip to Greenville, SC where customer service is regarded highly and is excellent. The people down south truly care about their jobs and take pride in their work. This is not evident here back home. I have been a customer for years and really enjoy your food. Since your employees don’t seem to care about service or seem to have common sense, I will be taking my business elsewhere and will not be patronizing Panera. You have lost a good customer.

Always good portion but prices are up

Like their pasta and soup, but when it is lunch time there are always a long line.

Panera is a pretty standard chain sandwich place and the menu is generic minus the bread options that they use. Salads are imaginative at least, and I have no clue how the pasta is but will also probably never give it a chance.
The servings are huge, which I think must be a recent thing as they have updated their to-​go packaging and it seems to be larger as well.
Calories are also huge. If you are looking for a low cal lunch, check their nutrition info on the website. A lot of sandwiches are upwards of 1000 calories, and salads can be around 600 or more.
It is beyond me why this place can’t seem to deviate from the set menu at all. Every single time I am there I ask for no tomato in my sandwich. And every single time I end up having to return said sandwich because there is, in fact, a tomato in it. Every. Single. Time.

Narrow and somewhat cramped location in a strip mall that has a virtual monopoly on lunch traffic for a part of the nearby Dunes office complex, and consequently does land office business at breakfast and lunch. The layout is very bad, with the line snaking by many tables, and the pick-​up spot at the back (as opposed to the Pick Up spot for take out orders in front), so we always feel quite cramped and a bit claustrophobic here. I also live in fear of colliding with somebody while moving food back and forth; Panera really has to get trays so one can take more than one heavy plate or bowl at a time, not just the tiny plastic platters they have.
That noted, the service and preparation here have been peppy and above average for the chain, so they retain a hearty three stars despite the many limitations of the location.

DeAnna decided to take the same week off and join me on most of my Unilocal lunches. However, she also decided we should continue her coffee stops since it is now her vacation too. Monday morning we stopped at Panera for a cup of coffee.
I used to love Panera before DeAnna discovered her Celiac’s. I’d rather have a half sandwich and soup at Panera than any other fast food option I could think of most days. There is something about the broccolli cheddar soup that I just love. I think it is the hunk of bread you get with the meal that soaks up the soup so well.
The problem is, there is so few gluten free options that if I want to eat here now I am pretty much making a separate stop for DeAnna. This fact has lowered the opportunity for us to stop in. However, this morning was just coffee as we had other lunch plans anyway.
We sat near the fireplace and chatted. It was an off hour so there were not a lot of people there, but most appeared to be business meetings of some sort.
DeAnna surprised me with a pastry, a chocolate croissant. Pretty good, even if I had to eat it with DeAnna staring at me the whole time. Don’t worry, I get her back by asking if she wants a bite. One of these days she’s going to slip up and give herself a fit, but I won’t feel guilty.

Fast service, food is up pretty quick. Only downside was the amount of loud college students. Also the person who took our order failed to ask us if we wanted bread, chips, or an apple. My boyfriend got a bread bowl, and it was pretty small. I remember he got one once and it was bigger.

Stopped into this Panera location on a busy MLK Day 2012. Line seemed like it was going to be long, however it moved very quickly!
Got the Steak Chili and Steak Salad (following the theme?), was a great combination. Kinda crowded, but they moved people in and out quickly.
With the Wi-​Fi (Free) there, you had students hanging out with their computers on a cold day. Avoid on a day like this in the future, but overall a great experience.

I love this place. Unfortunately I have to restrain myself from going here too often because I want to be able to fit into my pants.
Minus one star because recently I was served black bean soup with no beans. What the heck is that? An unappetizing bowl of black liquid, that’s what it is.

One of my favorite lunch spots. I only wish they would deliver because there isn’t one close enough to my work to make it there and back in half an hour. All of the soups are fantastic. I always get the pick 2, usually with broccoli cheddar soup and either a panini or a salad. The french baguettes are awesome as well as the cinnamon crunch bagels and other baked goods.