Panera Bread

Did you know if you bring your own cup you get a discount on coffee? They only charge you for a refill so it’s a little cheaper! The breakfast menu is very good with a wide variety of choices. This location tends to be fairly slow getting the food out so if you are in a rush in the morning it can be hit or miss. I love the hazelnut coffee but several times I have come in around 7:30 am and it is empty and have to wait for more which is frustrating. If service was faster and coffee was always fresh and hot I would stop more often.

I go to Panera Bread in Ankeny at 6 AM during the work week. The coffee is always ready and a full display counter of newly baked sweets are ready to sell. The smell of fresh baked bread is very enticing. I read my morning newspaper and drink my coffee and eat my bear claw. It is a great way to start the work day. The ANKENY location is just off I-​35 at the Oralabor Road Exit 90 in Ankeny. You can just off the interstate to get coffee and be back on the road in five minutes. It is great location with plenty of free parking.

Totally acceptable lunch. Fresh ingredients, reasonable prices and clean. Service is slow, but that is more a function of how busy Ankeny can be.
The parking situation here Is terrible. Narrow spots, poor layout and high traffic. Not suitable for trailers and long trucks.
This area isn’t easy in and out if you are coming off of I35.

Rude staff and overpriced food with very small portion sizes. A total flop and waste of time. I don’t understand the hype about this place at all.

Food is like every other Panera, good soups and salads. Great baked goods!!!
They were super busy but orders were coming out slow! My order ended up being wrong, Cesar salad instead of the Asian sesame salad. But manager comped a free bowl of pesto pasta as an apology. Very good customer service but still was really slow. It is a good place for «fast food» that is healthier than your usual burger joint. Just don’t try here if you are in a hurry during the lunch hour.

I’ve been to Panera Breads all over the country and this is the same as everywhere else. Good food, friendly staff, great environment for studying, talking, and just relaxing. This place is usually busy when I go, nothing too crazy though.

Pretty standard Panera joint, food-​wise, and I’ll never complain about the cinnamon toast crunch bagels. Ever. However. If you’d like to visit a zoo… go ahead and stop by this Panera location. I waited in-​line for my one bagel order for what felt like forever while one employee took orders and another two did something that looked like just goofing directly behind her. Finally the general manager was called to come out and help people. Standing close to the register, I felt as though my ear drums were going to burst from the sheer volume of her voice. Weird. So I sit down to eat, and the same loud girl who took my order is yelling to an employee from the counter to the other side of the restaurant with some story about a dead frog. This continued for a good 30 minutes. Just yelling.
In short, this isn’t a library or a classy joint, but holy crap. What even.
Your best bet is to get your order to go.

We just ate at this Panera and were served fairly quickly compared to other Panera Restaurants at which we’ve eaten. It wasn’t crowded, but there were other customers being served when we arrived. I am guessing that they’ve addressed the service issue mentioned in other reviews here as staff were attentive and helpful. I rated this 4 stars because its a shame that the many franchise restaurants at this exit that don’t even come close the the flavor and quality of food one expects at a Panera are inexplicably rated higher than one would ever imagine. This restaurant is consistent with the experience I have had at other Panera restaurants.

Congratulations to Ankeny, Iowa — you have the world’s slowest Panera!
When I travel, I work at the local Panera and/​or local Starbucks (I’ll toss in an Atlanta Bread Company too if/​when it’s available). Here’s what I’ve learned:
The Panera on Delaware Avenue, just across from Home Depot, is the slowest Panera I’ve ever been to. Here’s why:
1. No one seems to give a sh*t about being fast.
One of the workers I marveled at (his name is Harrison) was more concerned about complaining to co-​workers and pouting than serving customers. The guy was working at least half as fast as anyone else.
2. If/​when someone takes your order, they torture you with needless conversation.
«Hello and welcome to Panera. May I take your order.» — «Hi» would suffice
«Is that all? Anything Else?», to which I answer «No.» This is followed by «Can I interest you in a blah blah blah for only $ 3?» — WTF? I just said «No.»
etc.
3. The people who take my order also fill it?!
I’m not a restaurant expert, but in my opinion you need one or two people that focus on taking orders and then everyone else fills the orders. That’s how all the fast food /​fast casual restaurants do it, and that’s how most sit-​down places do it too.
However, at PANERA the person who takes your order also runs around the restaurant with their head cut off, scrambling to find some more whole milk for the espresso machine, bump into their co-​workers next to the bagel slicer, etc.
Here’s an idea: have one person run the espress machine, one more run the bagel slicer, and have one person take orders. SIMPLE, right?
The positives?
1. I’m using Panera’s free Wi-​Fi to write this glowing review.
2. The assistant manager (who’s name I couldn’t see) was a nice young woman who seemed to know how to hustle. I wish I had gotten in her line (which, incidentally, was the longest in the place… evidently all the regulars know she’s fast).
She should be put in charge, and anyone who loafs around complaining while customers are waiting should be put in the street. There are lots of great people looking for work right now — no need to tolerate laziness.

Please note my stars reflect the service at this Panera in particular and not the chain in general. I often stop here for a mocha and breakfast, lunch or dinner while on my way to or from MN. It is the perfect half way point and right off the highway. That said, it adds soooo much time to an already long trip! Every single time I have stopped here the line is extremely long just to place an order. The line of people waiting for their order is even worse! It is either a really busy place or the service is just really slow… or maybe a combo of both??? There is a now hiring sign out front so I am thinking they just need more help. Maybe once they have more employees behind the counter it won’t be so bad? I will happy to update my stars to the usual 4 or 5 I give Panera! The last 2 times I stopped in it was so bad I walked right back out and found another place for food and coffee. :-/​Too bad because I do love Panera’s food and beverages!

If you have loud, young kids or want to play music on your laptop without headphones, Panera is your place! If you want some piece and quiet, hit the library.
Friendly staff, normal Panera menu, and free wi-​fi!