#HackTheMenu - Panera Bread General Information

Panera considers its legacy to have begun in 1981 with the original Au Bon Pain Co., co-founded by current Panera CEO Ron Shaich. In 1993, Au Bon Pain Co. purchased the St. Louis Bread Company, which was founded by Ken Rosenthal in 1987. At the same time, the St. Louis Bread Company was renovating its 20 bakery-cafés in the St. Louis area. In May 1999, to expand Panera Bread into a national restaurant, Au Bon Pain Co. sold its other chains, including Au Bon Pain, which is now owned by Compass Group North America.

The company operates or franchises 1,500 Panera Bread bakery-cafés in 40 states and 20 facilities that deliver fresh dough to the bakery-cafés every day.

Panera's Bakery-Cafe section includes a wide array of pastries, such as croissants, bagels, cookies, brownies, etc. They also have a menu for this section of the restaurant that promotes items such as hot breakfast sandwiches, artisan breads, and a Panera kids section. Aside from the bakery section, they have a regular menu that is broken down into the following categories: - Hot Panini - Signature Hot Entr