Panera Bread

This is the definition of «A-​OK.» Please note, should you order something via rapid pickup and it is not available, they will neither call nor make an executive decision as to what an alternative would be. For example, ordered an everything bagel and they were out of everything bagels, so they put a hard stop on making the sandwich until I arrived twenty minutes later. This seems to contradict the purpose of «Rapid Pickup.»
Otherwise, it’s a Panera. Same stuff, different location.

I love Panera when it comes to restaurants of this type. I think the ingredients are fresh and higher quality. Love the soups, salads, and I like to mix and match. Love their new flavored teas.
The staff is always nice & I’ve never had a problem here. I like their breakfast sandwiches– especially the ham, egg, & cheese on ciabatta. I get the turkey sausage egg white. The sandwiches are hearty & quick since I go thru the drive thru. If I’m traveling and I just want a quick breakfast, Panera is my go to place since it’s consistent unless I’m feeling adventurous.

WHY? Why can’t you just get ONE order CORRECT??? I challenge Panera Bentonville to shut down a couple of hours early one day, and try to prepare 30 fake orders — I’d be willing to bet the moon that out of those 30 orders, 30 will be wrong… It’s so frustrating! The food is what brings me back; because if not for the good food, I’d never return! And when you are the more expensive restaurant choice in your given genre of eateries (or any business type) then you owe it to your customers to GET IT RIGHT! We deserve to be treated better!

Last week was my first time at this location… I don’t know why it took me so long to come haha since living here a year and a half!
PARKING/​WAIT:
They are located in a shopping center and there is a lot of parking, however, the parking right by panera gets very crowded during peak times, such as lunch.
The line inside can get long, but moves quickly. They also have a drive through option if you are strapped for time and cannot get out of your car.
SEATING:
They have a lot of seating, but during lunch time it can become sparse. Last time I was there they had a room reserved for a work function, so there were less seats available, but we were luckily able to score a booth soon after our food was ready. woohoo! haha.
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
The employees I interacted during this visit were all great. Friendly and helpful.
FOOD:
I ordered the Turkey BLT with Avocado and it was delicious! Hit the spot! I also got my daughter the PB&J, which was good, but she was more interested in my sandwich haha.
One of the main things I like about Panera is their quality of ingredients. I truly appreciate that they try to get the healthiest ingredients. They have continuously scored high when it comes to having meat without antibiotics and being transparent with this information.
Keep up the good work!

Terrible, the cashier sold us food, then had to be reminded they were out, then we had to do substitutes and got less food for the same price. As we went to wait I heard them say another thing was missing, I figured it was after ours. (Running out of food wouldn’t have been a problem if it wasn’t obvious he already knew and was told many times before hand and the bickering between the employees.)
This is only the 2^nd time I’ve ate at Panera, the first one the food was beyond fantastic… This one they changed my grilled cheese to two floppy tiny sandwiches. (They didn’t even tell us about that switch.) and the Mac tasted bad, I didn’t even think that was possible! My dads panini was inedible… He eats next to anything. Also with both of our orders we got 1 bag of chips. I really hope more Paneras are like the first one, but because of this I’ll probably just choose McDonalds over this junk, it’s terrible but at least reliable.

I had a quick Chicken and Almond Sandwich today and it tasted great and fresh. The service was awesome. The girl behind the Counter was super sweet and fast. I will be back. Love that I can get a Lunch that will not kill my Calorie Count!

What’s better than a bowl of chicken noodle when you are sick? Nothing. But to me this looks like a small cup. Throughly disappointed. I dont know if this is the typical size or not but I will never order soup from them again. Can’t even imagine what a cup looks like!

This was a disaster. Been a big fan of Panera in TX and AZ for years — especially breakfast. Happy to find one in B’ville upon relocation. Had a terrible experience. Ordered my usual breakfast soufflé (the best) and told they were cooking and that my order and money could not be taken until they came out of the oven and they could be sure they were not burned. So I stood at the front by the counter for 14 minutes (counted) while 7 other people placed orders for prepared foods, paid and went and sat for the food to prepared and their table number to be filled. Just kept getting more upset as I realized what a terrible way to be treated. Finally the soufflés were ready and my order was taken and I was allowed to sit down when they were placed in the front.
BTW — the actual soufflé was awesome as usual. Really a bummer when the service is so bad that it overshadows really good, quality food.

Pros: Food is fresher and more healthy then out take out places. There is great variety in sandwiches and I love the half and half option. The drive thru also makes it very convenient. I find myself coming here for lunch every time I’m already in the area.
Con: Too expensive! I wince every time they swipe my card almost $ 10 for half a sandwich and a salad that would be an appetizer at a restaurant. The apple is cool I guess…

Stopped in to pick up dinner on our trip to AR. It was dirty and they were out of turkey, avacado, flat bread, pretty much all the good stuff. We got our food back to the hotel and the order was all wrong and the roast beef was grey. No cheese on the French onion soup, we asked for extra cheese. The girl taking our order was nice but she was more concerned about her comedy routine than taking our order and paid no attention to the line forming behind us! She literally busted into some kind of stand up. Maybe if she would’ve been doing her job instead of trying to be funny we would’ve gotten what we ordered. Regardless, I couldn’t even eat the food and wouldn’t let my 3 year old touch it. This place was nasty. Filthy. I should’ve left before we ever ordered and that was my bad. I am giving them two stars instead of one only because when I called and asked for a refund they were actually nice about it and when I went back the next day they gladly refunded my entire $ 35 without any hassle. I can tell they just need better management…

They get our order wrong EVERY TIME we go there. Even when we take the time to check the amount of items, they will get the food order wrong. Like this evening we ordered tomato soup and they gave us onion. I have learned that I have to check every single item. If I don’t, then I end up with the wrong soup, or wrong sandwich or missing items that I paid for.

Tables all dirty. No ice tea, cups or lids. Got order wrong and did not all come at same time. Brutal and would not recommend this location. Manger was very very rude too!

Stopped in at Panera for a meeting. They have a great meeting room on the side of the store. If you haven’t seen it check it out. You can actually shut both doors and have some privacy but yet enjoy some warm food.

Terrible customer service!
I was trying to place an order for the next day was put on hold for 10 minutes and someone finally returned to the phone it was a different person. I told them I was trying to place an order for the next day before I could even tell them what I wanted they told me they were to busy and wouldn’t be able to have my lunch order tell around 1 or 2pm.
I still hadn’t told him what I was ordering it could have been just one sandwich platter but I got shut down!!!
Terrible way to run your business!

This review isn’t about Panera as a chain store, or even the food.
This review is solely meant to outline the reason that I consistently choose Atlanta Bread Co. over Panera: Wi-​Fi.
In the summer of 2013, I went to Panera 3 – 5 times a week to study. When I last went, several months after that class ended, I had a frustrating experience with the Wi-​Fi.
I «logged on» (accepted tos, etc) and tried to access email and some of my usual (mostly text-​based) sites. The data was so slow that I just gave up.
After spending about an hour in the books, I tried to get back online. But nooooooOoooo! I had used up my half hour allotment (or hour?).
What a bunch of crap. I don’t buy $ 9 sandwiches so I can have a half hour of slow Internet. If anyone can confirm that this is no longer the case, I’d be willing to give Panera another shot.

Being a short distance from my meetings I swing through this Panera a few times a year for breakfast. It’s much better than what the local Fairfield Inn serves. Unlike the Atlanta Bread down the street, this place is always packed and well staffed, although the food is nearly identical.
Their bagels are slightly better than average, but not by much, but the value here comes with easy. If you are in a hurry, you can swing through the drive through or stop in and be out in minutes. There’s always someone ready to take your order. For a bagel, pastry or breakfast sandwich the value can’t be beat.

I ordered the Smokehouse Turkey Panini for $ 5.49
The Turkey was very good, the Bacon was excellent and the Cheese was great.
A delicious Meal from this Drive Thru.

Was hoping to find a warm evening snack, but options were limited to muffins, cookies, breads – cold baked goods, in other words. While I placed my order, the young man running the register couldn’t stifle a yawn (he did apologize) but it made me wonder how really keen he was to have me as a customer. Panera hasn’t really been high on my list of places to dine in – they need to try harder.
Blueberry muffin was moist, buttery and delish, but the pumpkin muffin was dry and cakey.

First time I’ve seen a Panera Drive-​Thru-​was it really necessary?
The layout inside is terribly awkward with odd alleyways and seating arrangements where the sunlight blinds your eyes. The staff had a serious attitude and apparently a friend walked in during our order which prompted our cashier to screech in glee. Whoopee for you, could you at least take my order? I ordered a black bean soup but was give a french onion. Normally I wouldn’t have minded but a) they were not listening to me properly b) french onion soup has bacon, which I cannot consume. Considering both soups resemble each other it was troubling to me that they neglected to tell me they didn’t have my order and just passed me off a similar looking soup.
Shame on you Panera, I expected much more.

Another chain restaurant with a good theme and excellent follow-​through, Panera focuses on freshly made sandwiches, salads and soups, plus a wonderful bakery of not only pastries but also breads of all shapes and sizes. I particularly enjoy their chocolate chip bagel with the hazlenut cream cheese and when I am in the mood, a thick-​sliced loaf of cinnamon raisin bread for home made Sunday morning French toast.
It’s a little expensive ($ 10 for a sandwich and a drink). They also have a $ 6.29 «pick two» special where you get to choose two of a half-​sandwich and a bowl of soup or a salad. I don’t know if it is healthy, but it’s certainly a lighter choice than a McD’s value meal!
Panera has free wi-​fi and they generally don’t mind if you stick around for a couple of hours. Except during their peak lunch hours, when they reset your connection every thirty minutes. (Hooray for Unilocal’s auto-​save!)