Panera Bread

Wow what has happened to Panera. They took our favorite sandwiches off the menu and French onion soup. Today I ordered an Italian sandwich. Horrible. Very bland and who puts mayo on an Italian, shouldn’t it have oil/​vinegar. Rude cashier never asked what we wanted apple chips bread. Also I had a free pastry for my birthday and if I wouldn’t have read the receipt never would have known. 3 people didn’t know what Bravo sauce was 2 started arguing about it. I could go on but I think you get the picture

I went there today with my husband and we both ordered salads that were the smaller lunch size portions. Unlike previous visits when we ordered the same salads, today the small bowls (for half portions) were only ¹⁄₃ filled with salad… what a joke for almost $ 6 each! VERY disappointing… will not return!

Two stars makes sense for this location. I love this place but this place has horrible service and the food is always blehh. I have ordered to go food and i feel they just slop something together and throw it in the bag. If it wasn’t for the mac and cheese is never go there again

i went to panera today and i got a flat bread and asked for no cilantro on it. the receipt said no cilantro and i picked out the cilantro and put it to the side. there should be no reason for cilantro to be on my plate. so if they get your order wrong they give you a free bakery treat for your troubles. it was messy and troublesome picking out the cilantro i went up to the cashier who is the girl who thinks she knows my order but she doesn’t know. so i asked for a cookie. she said no because i ate the flat bread. i told her i had proof of my troubles and that i should get it. she said i’ll let you have it this time but next time you have to bring your item up. i raised my voice and said but i have proof!
mind you, no apologies and i am saving the company money by just picking it out instead of having them make it over again. they should be thanking me.
almost every time i go they get my order wrong but the way she handled the situation i don’t want to go there anymore!

Went here for lunch today to try this location out. For starters, they didn’t have the type of bread that was standard on the sandwich I wanted. I asked the cashier for a caloric equivelant bread and she didn’t seem to know what that meant. So she suggested «honey wheat» bread which I said fine to. When I got the sandwich, the bread was really no different than what you could get in the grocery store from Sara Lee. Artisan my arse. The soup was pretty much what you could get in any progressive soup can or even Campbell’s soup can. For $ 8.50, I could have bought a loaf of bread, cheese, and ham and made the same sandwiches myself in the parking lot. Had it been at least above average, I would have been satisfied, but this place is a big rip-​off. The staff isn’t very friendly, although for their wages I doubt that I would be either. Avoid this place like the plague, go get a sub at Jimmy John’s or a noodle bowl for fast food, this place has little value for your consumer $$$.
Food — ** (actually ***, but overpriced) — why if I’m getting half a sandwich and half a soup it’s 2/​3s the price of the whole… is it really for offset or are you pinching our nipples again?
Service — * (they were not helpful and curt)
Value — * (it’s a rip-​off!)
You’re fooling yourself if you think you’re paying extra for ambience and healthier food.

I love the Panera chain, I have frequented these places for years. Having said that, this location is my least favorite, for the fact that they almost never seem to have bread bowls. This is a staple item at this chain, and in the past 2 weeks, I have been there twice only to find out they had none. This occurred and 6 and 7pm on a Wednesday both times. Well we just had it happen again tonight, only this time we called first instead of wasting our time driving there, luckily.
I’d stay away from this Panera, they have inventory issues.

Date of Visit: 11.23.13
P anera bread has been named one of the healthiest fast food restaurants.
A nd, as most franchises are — food and beverage options are consistent.
N ot to mention that the Wi-​Fi works well at all locations.
E veryone should be aware that Mequon is a cute little town with cute little shops…
R edonkulously, they have a Wild Birds Unlimited nearby (pinky up, yeeeeah!)
N ote, however — that the parking lot for this complex is little, and not so cute.
A s I’m sure that during the normal commuter/​lunch rush, it can get hectic.
B read items here can be deceptively unhealthy if you’re not careful.
R efills in excess, on sugary sodas can be equally as harmful.
E very cup of coffee I had here, including the iced was just «Eh…»
A lthough… it should be noted that the customer service here is spot on.
D ining at 8pm tends to be more pleasant and quiet.
Quickly:
Location: 3 out of 5
Wouldn’t drive from downtown MKE just to eat here, but I was in the area and needed to kill some time. This location shares the same complex/​parking with a few other shops, including a hockey store, which I found to be comically bourgeois. Then I looked around at the rest of the shopping areas, and saw Wild Birds Unlimited. Lemme tell ya — having the resources to feed wild birds and to provide for them is a first world upper middle class hobby. Not in a mean way… but you see what I’m getting at. Don’t let that discourage you though — I actually had a wonderful time in Mequon and was treated very nicely by everyone I met at various locations.
Customer Service: 4 out of 5
The night time shift people working on the evening that I went all seemed to be engaged with their customers. Albeit, asking for a mug to drink my coffee «for here» didn’t require the utmost in interaction, but I appreciated the fact that they tried to make small talk with me.
Selection of Menu Items: 3 out of 5
Same as they are everywhere, except perhaps the Panera Cares Café where they take donations in lieu of payment (those, I believe… have a limited menu). A plug here to just be mindful about the menu choices. Panera does a good job of listing the calories beside their items — but don’t let their string of awards fool you into thinking that everything is equally as healthy. The roasted turkey wheatberry salad? Pretty decent. The big kid’s grilled cheese with chips and a soda? Not so much…
Cleanliness of store: 5 out of 5
Nice and clean when I went in the evenings. No tables were left dirty, the floors were clean, people came around often to check the garbage and cutlery bins, and the bathroom for all intents and purposes, was well sanitized. Hooray.
Quality of coffee: 2 out of 5
I realize that Panera doesn’ t market itself as a coffee shop, but the hot coffee here is just «Meh» just like any other location. You could give me McD’s premium roast coffee in the same mug and I’d be equally as satisfied. In the end, it probably comes down to expectations, i.e., if you think you’re going to be getting a Colectivo quality cup of coffee… well, you should probably just go to Colectivo.
Value: 3 out of 5
From a nutritional standpoint, you may be better served getting the same composition eating at a traditional fast food place and spending much less. However, throw in the «ambiance» and amenities that Panera offers, and it’s a decidedly positive experience with a reasonable added cost.
Overall: 3 out of 5
Decent experience, I probably won’t be back unless I’m in the area — but it remains a familiar and «safe» place when in doubt or pressed for time.

I work by this location so had my fair share of experiences either for breakfast or lunch.
Yes, there is a parking lot but it is hard to find a spot during these busy times. The staff is very focused on maintaining a conversation with each other opposed to truly interacting with the customer.
The food is standard Panera that you find at each of their locations. I find their portions to be large and very caloric, but that is just me. I don’t like how they just give you bread with your meal now instead of asking if you want the apple as a healthier option.
You will be waiting 20 – 30 minutes to order if you go in the busy time so make sure you plan accordingly.

This Panera has one of the most awkward seating areas and entrances in a restaurant that I have ever been to. This seems to be a recurring issue among Paneras actually, but if you are looking to take a to go order, they’ll do great. The sandwiches are decent, the bread is pretty impressive for a chain bakery, the bagels are not my favorite, and I’ve never enjoyed the soups.

Food is good. But, their service needs to step it up. Their morning crew has a few team members that are more concerned with chatting then customer service. This is the 3^rd time in a row that my Mocha tasted like it was made yesterday… I know this is not a coffee shop… But, I’ve been to several other Panera bread places that never had this problem.
So, my complaint is mostly about the coffee. Otherwise, the food is always good and done quickly.

Good food, slow service. And not enough comfortable seating options.

This Panera Bread location gets extremely busy during the lunch hour. Their parking lot is large enough to accommodate the large lunch hour rush. Unfortunately, however, there are people that use this Panera to hang-​out, from breakfast through the lunch hour, making a shortage of tables to sit down at, once you’ve ordered your food.
We noticed several tables of people that were totally done with their eating, and they just visit sat around visiting, while others were desperately in search of a place to sit down to eat. There were other people that we simply taking up an entire booth by themselves with their computer in hand. People go home and do your work, there — especiallly during the lunch hour! I think the «as much as you like» coffee and soda, might draw these people to Panera, and keep them there, instead of working at home with their computers.
Perhaps some reminders posted, would help make these people aware of
other Panera customers, needing a place to eat their lunch. Otherwise, the manager should go around and kindly remind people that they should finish up prior to the lunch traffic coming in.
I love Panera food, but I think this Panera needs to address this issue.

I used to live near this location and just could not understand why they could not get their service together. We love the black bean soup in a bowl and a couple of the baked goods but every time we went, which was too many times, the service was so crudy. I would order a sandwich and a drink and would not get my drink until long after my food was made and eaten. The owner/​manager who was often there, would do well to assess the methods of service and find ways to foster a happier and invested staff.