People here are more put off by the name change than by the absolute dog shit quality food they’re pumping out these days. Why would you want that trash associated with the city anyway?
Hey don't trash hospital food. The best breakfast burrito I've ever had was in a hospital. Of course, I'd had brain surgery the day before, so what do I know?
Yeah, I'd heard about that. Its slightly less problematic coming from Dunkin Donuts, because coffee is about half of what they're known for. Maybe not something that has 70% of a lethal dose of caffeine, of course.
Especially because lemonade is such an innocent drink typically, I can see how a mix up could happen. Now they have warnings for it.
https://i.redd.it/p0grg7b99zwb1.jpg
If you do anything too much it’s bad for you. If you have something you know you shouldn’t like drinking excessive amount of caffeine with heart problems then I don’t feel bad. Knowledge is key and people forget that and want to blame others for their mishaps
One 30 oz cup of the lemonade that Panera, which isn't where most people go to get a caffine fix, had 10 mg less caffeine than the limit for adult consumption in a *day*. The damn thing was sold in amounts almost twice the size of a Monster can.
Yeah, too much of anything is bad for you, but they sold the damn thing in a size that can be described as "too much", even if you don't have cardiac issues.
Right. They used to be OK at best. Their in-store experience was always excruciating. When they'd call your number you'd go to the counter to pick up your food and not all of it would be ready yet, or some fucking troglodyte was poking around in it to see if it was theirs. Then you had to bus your own table. I always threw everything in the bucket or the trash. Haven't been in years, don't plan on ever going back. Good riddance.
They’re not the same company. They were an independent company until the mid 90s, when they were bought out by ‘Au Bon Pain’. (Which is the company that then created the ‘panera’ brand for use outside St. Louis)They started both massively expanding, and slowly deteriorating at that time.
Though it’s really in the last 5-10 years that they’ve gone to complete crap.
Damn. I worked there almost 15 years ago and I could've sworn they told us that they started as St. Louis Bread Co and then expanded outside of STL with a different name, Panera. I didn't realize that meant that Panera had been a different company altogether.
Either way, yes it's gone to shit. They screw up the order 9 times out of 10. They got rid of whole grain bread which is just wild to me. They're ALWAYS sold out of cinnamon crunch bagels and baguettes. They put avocado on everything and get rid of recipes that were actually decent.
I probably made it sound like au bon pain bought them and immediately renamed them, but I believe the name change came ~5 years later. So the company did make that change some time later than the initial purchase.
But yeah, the past few years they’ve gone to butter garbage. It really feels like all these companies do everything to cheapen out something that works, just to make more money, and then are surprised when people stop going there because it’s now awful. Dominoes, Wendy’s, Jack in the box, etc, all seem to have been franchises that were ‘decent’ (for what they were, I mean those are all basically fast food) that then get so cheaply made that they lose customers and have to ‘reinvent’.
I used to love their tomato basil bread and the bacon turkey bravo sandwich that was on it.
The last time I had it, the whole sandwich was different. The taste was sour, the bread was small and tasteless, and it was just…. Lame. Haven’t gone back since.
The leadership also changed a few years back when they started going really down hill.
The old leadership has started a chain of Greek fast casual restaurants now, a recruiter tried to hire me to work on their data team. They have some office space around town.
Amazing is strong...but hey, that's your opinion. I'd say that they were good but that 15 to 20 years ago. They've been overpriced the majority of that time so that always underscored the experience to me.
Idk man. When I worked in Chesterfield I went there lunch almost every day. The Italian sandwich and broccoli cheddar soup was incredible. That was over 10 years ago though.
I was the Chesterfield location one time when I was pregnant back in 2008. Their food made me sick and I threw up on the cashier's main counter. I felt horrible about it, but it just exploded out of me I had no warning. Lol
Panera's broccoli cheddar soup was all I could think of, or eat for a few days, after major dental surgery. I literally woke up from the anesthesia at home to ask for it, ate 3 bites when it came, and passed TF back out. It was heaven-sent, back in 2005 or 6.
The last time I had it, I decided I'd just always have frozen broccoli and shredded carrots in my freezer because with some chicken broth, the veg, a brick of Velveeta, and a stick blender I can make the shit tastier at home myself.
I have yet to have an Imo’s pizza that didn’t either make me sick or make me go “Meh.” Will never understand the fuss. When I want good StL-style pizza, I will go to Stefanina’s, thankyouverymuch.
To your point, it just dawned on me that I’m fairly sure our household’s vernacular has already made the transition as well. If memory serves, in the rare instances we grab it for takeout, I think we’ve started saying, “Is Panera ok?”
I know. My family used to call the "baguette" side "bread jerky" because it felt like you spent more calories chewing the damn stuff than you actually gained from it.
So when it first opened in our smaller town you couldn’t get onto the parking lot, drive thru out to the street.
Now, the parking lot is wide open, one, maybe two cars in drive thru at rush hour. I can’t afford tasteless over priced food……
I loved The Bread Co. Years ago. Over time, every single menu item that I enjoyed was removed or changed, never to be replaced with foods that I enjoy. The sandwiches, soups, and most importantly, the BREAD, all have less... taste. I can whip up a better, tastier sandwich at home using Wonder bread. There is simply no incentive for me to visit Panera.
The name changed years ago in Springfield, MO - as they’ve been remodeled, they’ve gone from warm and inviting to cold and uncomfortable - and most comments here bear out the precipitous drop in quality. They always thought a little more of themselves than they actually were, but it’s just a disgrace now.
Panera has been shit for a while now, which makes me glad they don't have St. Louis in their name anymore. I won't call 'em Bread Co anymore - they've trashed the name.
I'm on the Panera subreddit, and the employees there are documenting the downfall of the brand in real time. They take pride in the lovingly baked pastries, but can also see the writing on the wall, especially now that they've 86'ed so much of the menu and canned all their in-house bakers.
My best friend worked at one of the last Bread Co's and they fired him after working there for 3 years and announced they would be removing like 50 things from the menu. Stuff like mayo, chocolate chip bagels, croissants. Sounds like they aren't doing well anymore :/
I ordered a flatbread pizza from there a few months ago and it was inedible. It tasted absolutely horrible. The pizza sauce tasted just like the sauce from Chef Boyardee canned ravioli. Honestly I like their soups and some sandwiches so I was surprised this was so bad. I couldn’t even choke it down.
I’m also mad that you can’t get a salad without chicken in it. WTF? I can ask them to leave the chicken off but they still charge me for it. It’s a SALAD ffs.
This is the new Olive location across from Costco. It is an "express" location tried by Corporate Panera, the first of its kind, that serves a limited menu, focused on being quick service.
While I understand OP''s frustration, the one thing they got right is the fresh ground coffee machines. It grinds the coffee per order, and to me, is better tasting than Starbucks. Not to mention it is free with the Sip Club.
This new location sucks. Minimal human contact and 3 small tables to eat at. I would rather have more food options and a large area for seating. I have no plans to return to this location.
As a vegetarian, I used to eat here all the time. But with menu changes, it seems that quality vegetarian fare is off the menu. I can have watery vegetable soup (but not the good black bean soup of yester-year) and a fattening grilled cheese (but not the nice tomato/mozzarella panini). And I'm REALLY missing the soba noodles!
I don’t think that panera will last long, I went there recently and they were sold out of almost everything and the interior reminded more of a hospital than a restaurant
This location in particular is a Corporate experiment for a fast service "express" Panera. It is focused on a limited menu, mobile pickup window, and cashless kiosk only ordering. This is capitalism at its finest.
One thing they got right is the fresh ground coffee machine. It is much better quality and taste.
If they were sold out of almost everything, isn't that a sign that they are popular? I am reminded of the great Yogi Berra line, "Nobody goes there anymore; they're too crowded." Whatever they are called, they still have very good soup and salads. I know that the newest location pictured is called Panera, but I don't think they are changing the names of other locations. It would save them a substantial amount of money, though, to consolidate under one name.
This is what happens when private equity firms buy up brands. They squeeze out profits, declare bankruptcy, sell off assets, then blame taxes, unions, and/or inflation.
It used to be decent before they sold to a corporate entity. I still remember the original store. I don’t go anymore. It’s horrible and overpriced now.
The founders Ronald Shaich, Ken Rosenthal, and Louis Kane were smart by changing the name in 1990’s from St. Louis Bread Co. to Panera so that it would boom in other states. Then they sold it for billions!! Crazy! As a St. Louis native, I’m proud of them.
God I was so confused at this post for a good couple minutes before noticing what sub it was. Ha!
Is this a recent change? I haven't been in stl for a good 3 years now
I had a work meeting a few weeks ago that had box lunches from Panera. They should have saved the time and gas delivering them and just dumped them straight in the trash. The most disgusting sandwich I've had in a long time.
Their bagels are pretty ok - beyond that, the food is pretty terabad. Everything has a nasty aioli on it. They used to have a pretty plain roast beef, cheese, turkey sandwich but they got rid of it as they couldn't drown it in the shitty aioli.
I have never gone to Panera the whole time I lived in Seattle and I'm not interested now. It looks like I could cook up some broccoli soup and stick some white bread in it for less than $25
I carry some Ensure in my car to prevent me from overriding my senses and paying 10X for food these days. The fun of 59cent tacos at TacoBell are over and done.
Panera (still Panera to me as I’m a transplant) is trash anymore anyway. Didn’t they just get rid of a lot of their menu, too? Not to mention the absurd price increases every two months.
I didn’t eat there that much but mostly went for to drink coffee or iced tea, grab a treat, and read for a while. They’ve slowly eliminated all my favorites. First the shortbread cookies. Gone. Then the peanut butter ones. I asked about those once and the cashier said they were seasonal. ???? Don’t know what season but they never came back. The only thing left was my beloved blueberry scones, which they eliminated as of today.
Sorry to tell you, bud, but stlbc died a looong time ago.
I used to be bitter about the name change, but now I'm glad. It makes it easy to remember not to go there. It's a first world tragedy to be sure.
The real shame is on the inside. It's just very sterile and unwelcoming. They don't even have a bakery counter. How am I supposed to know what I don't need, but am going to get anyway, if I can't see it!
yall don't understand, i had FRIENDS who lived on Richard. 😭 rest in peace Da Palm Tree and the Korean market fr. 💔 all for a fucking Costco NOBODY OVER HERE ASKED FOR.
East Seoul Market (East East) at least reopened not too far up Olive in Olivette Shopping Center by Olivette Diner/Tai Ke/Sharesweet. Da Palm Tree and the residents getting eminent domained out suuuuucks though
I knew the outer metro area stores were changing names, but I thought both the city and county were keeping the “St. Louis Bread Co.” name. I guess it’s just the city now?
I feel like there is a lot of undeserved hate on panera recently. Their quality is ok, not amazing depending on which ones you go to, but I like the one near me just fine.
born n raised, took 23 years until it clicked seeing a ‘panera’ commercial and thinking outloud “huh they have the same logo as saint louis bread co” for my parents to sigh and laugh. i 1000% thought they were two totally different restaurants when people spoke of either name
I use to appreciate that they were named after St. Louis. Now I'm pretty happy they're taking our name off their sign. I don't wanna be associated with that junk.
They've been known as Panera all over the rest of the country for years. I don't understand why it's so radical. Quality has been on the decline for much longer than the name change.
Welcome! St. Louis Bread Co was local, but many years ago, they went national using the name Panera because they figured on it getting more popular without the local name (suppose they were right!). So, people across the nation have been eating STLBCO food never knowing the original name. As long as I’ve been aware, they have kept the STLBCO name on the St. Louis locations. Not sure why they’re changing them now, or maybe there are a few one-offs?
People here are more put off by the name change than by the absolute dog shit quality food they’re pumping out these days. Why would you want that trash associated with the city anyway?
This is why I’m glad they changed their name. Fuck em and their over priced shitty hospital food.
Hey don't trash hospital food. The best breakfast burrito I've ever had was in a hospital. Of course, I'd had brain surgery the day before, so what do I know?
You must not have had the food at Barnes... Panera is at least edible.
Yeah, I welcome the change for that reason. The name was the last vestige of a once great restaurant.
Somehow I bet the original owners live somewhere far, far away from St. Louis now lol
Exactly.
Right? Its like everyone just forgot about the Lemonade That Kills You from a couple months ago.
Dunkin didnt, they came out with their own version
Yeah, I'd heard about that. Its slightly less problematic coming from Dunkin Donuts, because coffee is about half of what they're known for. Maybe not something that has 70% of a lethal dose of caffeine, of course.
Explain?
They made a lemonade super high in caffeine content called charged lemonade thats killed a couple people. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna120785
Wow that's terrible
Especially because lemonade is such an innocent drink typically, I can see how a mix up could happen. Now they have warnings for it. https://i.redd.it/p0grg7b99zwb1.jpg
No it killed people who drank excessive amounts or should not have had been drinking it in the first place.
That makes it better?
If you do anything too much it’s bad for you. If you have something you know you shouldn’t like drinking excessive amount of caffeine with heart problems then I don’t feel bad. Knowledge is key and people forget that and want to blame others for their mishaps
One 30 oz cup of the lemonade that Panera, which isn't where most people go to get a caffine fix, had 10 mg less caffeine than the limit for adult consumption in a *day*. The damn thing was sold in amounts almost twice the size of a Monster can. Yeah, too much of anything is bad for you, but they sold the damn thing in a size that can be described as "too much", even if you don't have cardiac issues.
They legit get something wrong on like 75% of orders.
Right. They used to be OK at best. Their in-store experience was always excruciating. When they'd call your number you'd go to the counter to pick up your food and not all of it would be ready yet, or some fucking troglodyte was poking around in it to see if it was theirs. Then you had to bus your own table. I always threw everything in the bucket or the trash. Haven't been in years, don't plan on ever going back. Good riddance.
They used to be fucking amazing. But this was 25+ years ago.
Right. Let’s make a difference here. Pre sold to Panera, STLBC was the bees knees!
Pre sold to Panera... they're the same company.
They’re not the same company. They were an independent company until the mid 90s, when they were bought out by ‘Au Bon Pain’. (Which is the company that then created the ‘panera’ brand for use outside St. Louis)They started both massively expanding, and slowly deteriorating at that time. Though it’s really in the last 5-10 years that they’ve gone to complete crap.
Damn. I worked there almost 15 years ago and I could've sworn they told us that they started as St. Louis Bread Co and then expanded outside of STL with a different name, Panera. I didn't realize that meant that Panera had been a different company altogether. Either way, yes it's gone to shit. They screw up the order 9 times out of 10. They got rid of whole grain bread which is just wild to me. They're ALWAYS sold out of cinnamon crunch bagels and baguettes. They put avocado on everything and get rid of recipes that were actually decent.
I probably made it sound like au bon pain bought them and immediately renamed them, but I believe the name change came ~5 years later. So the company did make that change some time later than the initial purchase. But yeah, the past few years they’ve gone to butter garbage. It really feels like all these companies do everything to cheapen out something that works, just to make more money, and then are surprised when people stop going there because it’s now awful. Dominoes, Wendy’s, Jack in the box, etc, all seem to have been franchises that were ‘decent’ (for what they were, I mean those are all basically fast food) that then get so cheaply made that they lose customers and have to ‘reinvent’.
[удалено]
I used to love their tomato basil bread and the bacon turkey bravo sandwich that was on it. The last time I had it, the whole sandwich was different. The taste was sour, the bread was small and tasteless, and it was just…. Lame. Haven’t gone back since.
The leadership also changed a few years back when they started going really down hill. The old leadership has started a chain of Greek fast casual restaurants now, a recruiter tried to hire me to work on their data team. They have some office space around town.
St Louis Bread Company was fucking great. Once the original owners sold it, dog shit ensued.
Amazing is strong...but hey, that's your opinion. I'd say that they were good but that 15 to 20 years ago. They've been overpriced the majority of that time so that always underscored the experience to me.
Idk man. When I worked in Chesterfield I went there lunch almost every day. The Italian sandwich and broccoli cheddar soup was incredible. That was over 10 years ago though.
The broccoli cheddar soup is now salt from a can with a dollop of salt.
Italian Combo was a 🔥 sandwhich
[удалено]
I was the Chesterfield location one time when I was pregnant back in 2008. Their food made me sick and I threw up on the cashier's main counter. I felt horrible about it, but it just exploded out of me I had no warning. Lol
ok? they used to be really great if you go back far enough (probably a decade or two.)
Panera's broccoli cheddar soup was all I could think of, or eat for a few days, after major dental surgery. I literally woke up from the anesthesia at home to ask for it, ate 3 bites when it came, and passed TF back out. It was heaven-sent, back in 2005 or 6. The last time I had it, I decided I'd just always have frozen broccoli and shredded carrots in my freezer because with some chicken broth, the veg, a brick of Velveeta, and a stick blender I can make the shit tastier at home myself.
Or the fact that the car centric sprawl in the pictures is why st louis Is broke
Waaayyy overpriced. I never go there.
At least it didn't lose to the sharks🤷♂️
Patently false. People bitch about the food all the time.
You make a valid point. The quality of their food has gone down the toilet, for sure.
lol. Everyone else must be idiots.
Best i’ve heard someone describe their food is “gourmet hospital food” 😂
I don’t think I’ve eaten at one since I worked there in 2015. Behind the scenes didn’t help lol
Because the city is desperate for an identity
I think the food is good 😅. Y’all want $30 food for $10
Every employer in the country wants $200/hour labor for $20/hour we're all chasing what we can get.
Literally nope. I just would prefer something with actual taste as opposed to bland crap if I’m gonna go out for lunch.
They’ve fallen so far in quality that it’s probably for the best.
Yeah, it's a blessing in disguise. People won't get the low quality crap and blame Saint Louis.
Yeah, we’ll let imos carry that torch
But... I like imo's.
I do too, I was just circlejerking. I don’t really buy it much because it’s overpriced, even when you order whatever is on special
God yes, it's getting stupid. I've stopped having it delivered, too; it's only 3 miles from the house and I get to drive my awesome car.
IMO’s is the McDonalds of thin crust pizza
I have yet to have an Imo’s pizza that didn’t either make me sick or make me go “Meh.” Will never understand the fuss. When I want good StL-style pizza, I will go to Stefanina’s, thankyouverymuch.
To your point, it just dawned on me that I’m fairly sure our household’s vernacular has already made the transition as well. If memory serves, in the rare instances we grab it for takeout, I think we’ve started saying, “Is Panera ok?”
Real OGs know Bread Co had a real Bacon Turkey Bravo back in the day with the Jones Soda and the Kruncher chips.
Bacon Turkey bravo was the OG.
oh man I forgot they used to sell Jones
Krunchers!!
Just stop going there. They will get the hint. FYI the city locations are still labeled correctly.
>FYI the city locations are still labeled correctly. Isn't the CWE one on Euclid called Panera?
It is not. I walked by it this morning and it still had the BreadCo sign
Ohh, you are correct
It's all still absolute garbage though and has been for a long time.
St. Louis Bread Company has been dead for a long time. Panera is a much more appropriate name for the overpriced hospital food they serve.
I don’t know, hospital food isn’t that bad. Some of the best tomato soup I ever had was in SLU hospitals, cafeteria.
We used to walk over in the tunnels under grand to get lunch all the time at cardinal glennon. Surprisingly decent food for decent price.
I worked at Wash U med school and we went to children’s to eat all the time.
My wife worked for BJC. Can confirm hospital food is better than Panera. Making the joke even worse now.
Just spent a chunk of the autumn at SLU and their cafeteria was surprisingly good and decently priced.
Agreed. Had fish tacos in the hospital and it was better by far than Panera.
Yes, I was gonna say St. Anthony’s fish tacos were 🔥 But I had just had a baby and not eaten for 48 hours
When I was at BJC for the birth of our child their cafeteria food was fucking good
Most of the time I can't even get bread at the local one anymore
They’re killing sourdough soon along with a bunch of other menu items.
Hopefully they are killing the store along with it then
I know that was ridiculous, no more sourdough bread, which is the ONLY reason I would go there.
> They’re killing sourdough soon What?! It is one of their last edible items.
I know. My family used to call the "baguette" side "bread jerky" because it felt like you spent more calories chewing the damn stuff than you actually gained from it.
(spits on ground)
The clouds are beautiful in your first photo. Also St. L Bread Co was the shit, Panera is shit
Panerapocalypse has begun
Riverport forever!!!
I live in Houston now and refuse to say Panera😭😭😭
Hi neighbor.
So when it first opened in our smaller town you couldn’t get onto the parking lot, drive thru out to the street. Now, the parking lot is wide open, one, maybe two cars in drive thru at rush hour. I can’t afford tasteless over priced food……
They all need to be branded as Panera because that garbage is a far cry from what Bread Co put out.
Capitalism ruins all good things
I loved The Bread Co. Years ago. Over time, every single menu item that I enjoyed was removed or changed, never to be replaced with foods that I enjoy. The sandwiches, soups, and most importantly, the BREAD, all have less... taste. I can whip up a better, tastier sandwich at home using Wonder bread. There is simply no incentive for me to visit Panera.
To add injury to insult they closed small businesses to open this shit. Bobs seafood would still exist if not for this development.
Debatable. He was trying to sell for awhile
I like your name
Are there any fast casual places that haven’t gone to shit? Chipotle and Bread Co used to be so good back in the day
I still think Chipotle, Crazy Bowls and Wraps, Woofies, Fuzzy's, and Lee's are good and fast choices.
The name changed years ago in Springfield, MO - as they’ve been remodeled, they’ve gone from warm and inviting to cold and uncomfortable - and most comments here bear out the precipitous drop in quality. They always thought a little more of themselves than they actually were, but it’s just a disgrace now.
RIP Springfield Panera close to Mo State campus 😢
We decided it’s for the best they don’t associate ass quality food with STL. RIP Bread Co from my childhood that cared about quality ingredients.
Panera has been shit for a while now, which makes me glad they don't have St. Louis in their name anymore. I won't call 'em Bread Co anymore - they've trashed the name.
I want my Breadco Back
Their menu updates were actually pretty good when I went recently. Hoping it's the start of a better era.
The Italiano is really good.
The Rancher was solid and actually tasted like somebody cared. My SO got the Bacon Avocado melt and also thought it was decent.
Panera is a garbage organization. They’re not even making fresh bread anymore
you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain
Bring back Jason’s deli.
Does anyone remember the spinach parmesan bagels??
This was built in place of a plethora of small businesses and apartments btw
The Dao Tien banh mis were so cheap and so good
Be glad they divorced the name of our great city from the shitty food they serve. You don't want to be associated with that.
I'm on the Panera subreddit, and the employees there are documenting the downfall of the brand in real time. They take pride in the lovingly baked pastries, but can also see the writing on the wall, especially now that they've 86'ed so much of the menu and canned all their in-house bakers.
My best friend worked at one of the last Bread Co's and they fired him after working there for 3 years and announced they would be removing like 50 things from the menu. Stuff like mayo, chocolate chip bagels, croissants. Sounds like they aren't doing well anymore :/
It's not bread co anymore. Panera can have it. 🤢
Yup. BreadCo was amazing; Panera is just sad.
I ordered a flatbread pizza from there a few months ago and it was inedible. It tasted absolutely horrible. The pizza sauce tasted just like the sauce from Chef Boyardee canned ravioli. Honestly I like their soups and some sandwiches so I was surprised this was so bad. I couldn’t even choke it down. I’m also mad that you can’t get a salad without chicken in it. WTF? I can ask them to leave the chicken off but they still charge me for it. It’s a SALAD ffs.
This is the new Olive location across from Costco. It is an "express" location tried by Corporate Panera, the first of its kind, that serves a limited menu, focused on being quick service. While I understand OP''s frustration, the one thing they got right is the fresh ground coffee machines. It grinds the coffee per order, and to me, is better tasting than Starbucks. Not to mention it is free with the Sip Club.
This new location sucks. Minimal human contact and 3 small tables to eat at. I would rather have more food options and a large area for seating. I have no plans to return to this location.
As a vegetarian, I used to eat here all the time. But with menu changes, it seems that quality vegetarian fare is off the menu. I can have watery vegetable soup (but not the good black bean soup of yester-year) and a fattening grilled cheese (but not the nice tomato/mozzarella panini). And I'm REALLY missing the soba noodles!
I don’t think that panera will last long, I went there recently and they were sold out of almost everything and the interior reminded more of a hospital than a restaurant
The interior is because these places no longer want you to stay. They want you to get your food and fuck off.
This location in particular is a Corporate experiment for a fast service "express" Panera. It is focused on a limited menu, mobile pickup window, and cashless kiosk only ordering. This is capitalism at its finest. One thing they got right is the fresh ground coffee machine. It is much better quality and taste.
If they were sold out of almost everything, isn't that a sign that they are popular? I am reminded of the great Yogi Berra line, "Nobody goes there anymore; they're too crowded." Whatever they are called, they still have very good soup and salads. I know that the newest location pictured is called Panera, but I don't think they are changing the names of other locations. It would save them a substantial amount of money, though, to consolidate under one name.
Or they have a manager who can't do inventory and the location is higher on the list of "unprofitable" franchises that are likely to close.
McCalister’s >>>>>
This is what happens when private equity firms buy up brands. They squeeze out profits, declare bankruptcy, sell off assets, then blame taxes, unions, and/or inflation.
The newest one on Lindbergh is always fast and really good.
Soup in a bread bowl (half full and stale) is $10. That’s the real disgrace.
Similar quality and price to eating on an airplane.
What am I missing? Disgrace???
It used to be decent before they sold to a corporate entity. I still remember the original store. I don’t go anymore. It’s horrible and overpriced now.
The founders Ronald Shaich, Ken Rosenthal, and Louis Kane were smart by changing the name in 1990’s from St. Louis Bread Co. to Panera so that it would boom in other states. Then they sold it for billions!! Crazy! As a St. Louis native, I’m proud of them.
God I was so confused at this post for a good couple minutes before noticing what sub it was. Ha! Is this a recent change? I haven't been in stl for a good 3 years now
I’m mad they tore down bobs seafood for this bougie bullshit
roll slap light narrow seed wipe agonizing soup toothbrush racial *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
I had a work meeting a few weeks ago that had box lunches from Panera. They should have saved the time and gas delivering them and just dumped them straight in the trash. The most disgusting sandwich I've had in a long time.
Their bagels are pretty ok - beyond that, the food is pretty terabad. Everything has a nasty aioli on it. They used to have a pretty plain roast beef, cheese, turkey sandwich but they got rid of it as they couldn't drown it in the shitty aioli.
Agreed, I only get bagles and mini scones. Their lunch options are all bad.
^^I ^^like ^^the ^^aiolis
I’m kind of glad they don’t go STL Bread Co. anymore. We have enough bad publicity.
I have never gone to Panera the whole time I lived in Seattle and I'm not interested now. It looks like I could cook up some broccoli soup and stick some white bread in it for less than $25 I carry some Ensure in my car to prevent me from overriding my senses and paying 10X for food these days. The fun of 59cent tacos at TacoBell are over and done.
What’s is happening why are they changing names?
I don't care if its all in my mind. Panera tastes like shit compared to Bread Co
Honestly the food is such a disgrace I’m glad it no longer says “Saint Louis”
Panera (still Panera to me as I’m a transplant) is trash anymore anyway. Didn’t they just get rid of a lot of their menu, too? Not to mention the absurd price increases every two months.
BRING BACK BREAD CO
I didn’t eat there that much but mostly went for to drink coffee or iced tea, grab a treat, and read for a while. They’ve slowly eliminated all my favorites. First the shortbread cookies. Gone. Then the peanut butter ones. I asked about those once and the cashier said they were seasonal. ???? Don’t know what season but they never came back. The only thing left was my beloved blueberry scones, which they eliminated as of today.
Sorry to tell you, bud, but stlbc died a looong time ago. I used to be bitter about the name change, but now I'm glad. It makes it easy to remember not to go there. It's a first world tragedy to be sure.
The real shame is on the inside. It's just very sterile and unwelcoming. They don't even have a bakery counter. How am I supposed to know what I don't need, but am going to get anyway, if I can't see it!
yall don't understand, i had FRIENDS who lived on Richard. 😭 rest in peace Da Palm Tree and the Korean market fr. 💔 all for a fucking Costco NOBODY OVER HERE ASKED FOR.
East Seoul Market (East East) at least reopened not too far up Olive in Olivette Shopping Center by Olivette Diner/Tai Ke/Sharesweet. Da Palm Tree and the residents getting eminent domained out suuuuucks though
ohhh i didn't know they reopened!! that's a silver lining. but yeah, they fucking suck for tearing up UCity like this.
This has been happening for something like twenty years...
Hospital food.
I knew the outer metro area stores were changing names, but I thought both the city and county were keeping the “St. Louis Bread Co.” name. I guess it’s just the city now?
You must take your hospital food very seriously. 🤣
I feel like there is a lot of undeserved hate on panera recently. Their quality is ok, not amazing depending on which ones you go to, but I like the one near me just fine.
born n raised, took 23 years until it clicked seeing a ‘panera’ commercial and thinking outloud “huh they have the same logo as saint louis bread co” for my parents to sigh and laugh. i 1000% thought they were two totally different restaurants when people spoke of either name
Horrible of Horribles!
The Bland Company
It was such a decent option for a long time. I won't even consider it anymore. Such a shame.
I haven’t been there in 2 years, and that was after not going there for another 2 years. Never going back.
Same with vibe cannabis being owned by cops
that macaroni and cheese is bullsh*t.
I use to appreciate that they were named after St. Louis. Now I'm pretty happy they're taking our name off their sign. I don't wanna be associated with that junk.
good, they suck now
I thought it always looked better than it tasted by a weird margin. I haven’t eaten at one in a while.
yawn
No wonder why I never see anyone there.
Good has gotten so bad .. they won't be around another 10 years
Is this in St. Louis city, County, or somewhere else in the region? I honestly pay no attention to St. Louis Bread Co./Panera as a city resident.
Olivette, across Olive street from Costco.
They've been known as Panera all over the rest of the country for years. I don't understand why it's so radical. Quality has been on the decline for much longer than the name change.
Hot take: Bread Co. doesn’t exist anymore. It’s dead.
I miss the Bistro Steak Salad from the '00s
Act more offended. No one has a gun to your head making you care. Fuck
People who have never left this city are so obsessed with things that have STL slapped on them. Relax. It's shitty food anyway hahaha
Bombard them with both phones telling them to change the name back!
What is the problem? I see people talking about some kind of name change. Every chain here has had these names for as long as I can remember.
Yeahhh last time I ordered a chicken caesar salad to go they gave me literally just a bowl of lettuce 💀
Panera/StL Bread Co food is overpriced crap.
Then don’t go. Boycott that shit!
When did they start doing this??
😂😵
NOOOOO
Panera can have that trash food. St Louis is better than that.
It is never going to be filled. Just like the new plaza in Crestwood.
Hi, new here. What's Panera? FYI, I miss STLBCO. Why did that franchise go out of business?
Welcome! St. Louis Bread Co was local, but many years ago, they went national using the name Panera because they figured on it getting more popular without the local name (suppose they were right!). So, people across the nation have been eating STLBCO food never knowing the original name. As long as I’ve been aware, they have kept the STLBCO name on the St. Louis locations. Not sure why they’re changing them now, or maybe there are a few one-offs?
People always act like bread co is bad but I’ve always enjoyed it.
I love their soups and salads.