PANERA BREAD
PANERA BREAD (PNRA)
Panera Bread (called St. Louis Bread Company in the St. Louis metropolitan area and Paradise Bakery & Café, a Phoenix-based concept with over 70 locations in 10 states, predominantly in the west and southwest) is a chain of bakery-café restaurants in the United States and Canada which sells breads, sandwiches, soups, salads, bakery items, and organic foods.
Panera no longer offers Crispanis, a pizza-like creation which they used to offer after 4PM at select locations in order to draw more of a dinner crowd. Their updated menu includes seasonal cookies, a wider variety of coffee flavors, and macaroni and cheese. Panera is considered a “quick casual” restaurant and offers catering as well. It is headquartered in Richmond Heights, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.
Panera Bread expanded into Canada, beginning in 2008 with Richmond Hill and Mississauga, both in the Toronto area. The expansion into suburban areas was conservative; penetrating the vibrant cafe scene of urban Toronto epitomized by Queen West and competing with the popular multicultural and independent bakeries which keep profits in the community may prove a veritable challenge.
Most locations offer free wireless Internet (Wi-Fi) access to customers. Panera operates the largest free wireless network in the United States. This service includes SonicWALL Internet filtering, which queries a central database before blocking or allowing access by category; the filter has been known to incorrectly categorize sites. Many locations restrict the duration of free Wi-Fi during peak hours to 30 or 60 minutes.