What would you like to know?

I never eaten there before, what things should I avoid getting and what is the best deals?

>>7266810

So the breads are really made in the store or is it pre-made garbage?

>>7266851
Classic salad is the best deal due to a bug in the register system. Buy one and ask for the following:
Double Everything
Everything on the side

You'll get a second salad free. This works for all salads, but cheeses and meats do have a charge for getting double, so it'll cost more than one salad but less than the two you're getting. Danishes are okay, but those things are calorie dense. All pastas are microwaved.

>>7266854
Breads are really made in the store, though they do come with actual premade mixes in most cases.

>>7266854
re-read the post

Give me the deets on your Mac and cheese. And drink wise, what do you suggest. Is the tea good?

>>7266911
Mac and cheese comes frozen, we thaw it out in the walk-in and microwave it to order. It's pretty bland; I think Panera Bread is afraid of seasonings because that'd mean the risk of offending the typically shit-tier palates of people that pretend it's fine dining.

The tea's good, but I don't like very sweet teas. Our acai tea that's out at the moment is probably my favorite. If you get some Mtn Dew and add just enough of the acai tea for the color to change, you get a neat berry soda.

Is it true that workers are not allowed to take cream cheese home?

>>7267018
There's a lot of things we're technically not allowed to take home.

I'm technically not allowed to take 20lbs of bread and a box of pastries home. Depends on your manager.

also be sure to check your cream cheese; our store had some still in stock to be sold that was 3 months old.

>>7266810
I work the night shift at Panera and I can honestly vouch for all of this.

>>7267018
>also be sure to check your cream cheese; our store had some still in stock to be sold that was 3 months old
Why is FIFO such a difficult concept for some people? Lazy fucks.

what a lame shitty restaurant. ive heard nothing but bad things about it, ever

>>7267074
Since cashiers handle the cream cheese and cash is literally the easiest job in the store, they don't put the 'good' workers in that position.

>>7267109
It's pretentious most definitely, though I haven't heard bad things about it. It's just mediocre food at a premium.

I don't know the etiquette for this place.

I really like the Asiago cheese bread and that's all I've ever gotten. There's a drive-thru but what can I order that I could pick up at the drive-thru? They often don't have the bread I want and I jsut turn around ane leave, but that would be immeasurably more awkward in a drive-thru. Also I kinda want to order soup or something but everything on the website is always shown with porcelain dishes. Do they have like paper bowls or something/ standard fast food wrapping? Help, I'm retarded.

>>7268578
also what's the deal with ordering through the iphone app? Is there an option to specify if that's dine-in or take-out?

>>7268578
>Help, I'm retarded.
You didn't need to tell us. We can read your post.

>>7268578
use the app bruh

>>7268578
>I really like the Asiago cheese bread and that's all I've ever gotten.

It isn't half bad, so good choice.

>There's a drive-thru but what can I order that I could pick up at the drive-thru?

Nothing. Not because we don't like you, but because if you preorder your food by phone or online, you have to come inside to pick it up. It backs up the drive thru line if we have people whose food is already made lining up to pick it up. There's designated parking for people getting preordered meals, though, right up front.

>They often don't have the bread I want and I jsut turn around ane leave, but that would be immeasurably more awkward in a drive-thru.

Bread is baked once, and that's overnight. Pastries get baked one or two more times during the day. Coming earlier will work, as will ordering your bread with the app, say, before you go to work, and coming to pick it up when you get off.

>Also I kinda want to order soup or something but everything on the website is always shown with porcelain dishes. Do they have like paper bowls or something/ standard fast food wrapping?

Yes, pictures are taken using the dine-in dishware because it's more appealing than to go cups and paper bags, but there's nothing you can order in the store that you can't order in drive through. Soups and macaroni come in paper cups (8 oz) or bowls (16 oz) and soups alone come in Group Soups (32 oz). Tortellini has its own oval container, and broth bowls have a special container.

Sandwiches come wrapped in typical deli paper. The free sides you can pick from are a french baguette (always baked the night prior unless a supply issue happens that forces the day workers to bake them, but heated up intermittently throughout the day), an apple, or a bag of kettle or baked chips.

>>7268813
Thank you very much for the response and good information. I will now try Panera again with confidence

>>7266810
I fucking love Panera and I wish I had a bro like you that worked at my local one ;-;

Why dont you call it by its real name?

Saint louis bread company.


Enjoy pur flyover shit you coastal fucks

Why did they get rid of french onion soup?

who's the hottest person you've banged/would bang that you work with

>>7266810
is there anything that panera serves that is particularly good? i've never been really impressed by anything there except the price for a tiny sandwich.

Do you know the Mac and Cheese recipe? Shits dank.


Also, what's your favorite sandwich? I love the Turkey Bacon Bravo.

>>7267800
And overpriced, but the marketing and free promos keep a line out the door.

>>7268858
They didn't want to have a name with a location in the title to mess with local sentimentalities when they spread out. They chose Panera because it's jsut a portmanteau of pane(bread) and era(time).

>>7268873
It's back, run grab some before we close.
It's a seasonal item, so it disappears in the fall and pops up in the spring.

>>7268879
My fellow line workers are all men, and the cashiers aren't all that hot. The only two I'd consider are both taken; one married, one dating my coworker before she started working here.

>>7268892
Greek salad with chicken and orange miso dressing on the side might surprise you. You can use the register cheat I've mentioned earlier to get more food for less, too. They have some good smoothie choices, and their danishes are noice. Again, it's a business marketing itself as "consumer conscious", so ymmv on whether the price is worth it. Employees get a 65% discount on days they work, which prices it competitive with Taco Bell for me.

>>7268899
Unfortunately I don't know the recipe, as it comes frozen and we just thaw/microwave it. It's okay, but I can't help but feel like it's missing some sort of seasoning. Maybe pepper.

My favorite sandwhich is the asiago steak, but I'm not always down for it. Otherwise I'll also go Bravo, or Chicken Ham and Swiss flatbread if it's not cheating to call that one.

When it's cold out, the staff choice for a You Pick Two is a half Big Kids' Grilled Cheese (It's been discontinued for a while, so if your local clerk can't ring it up, ask for a classic grilled cheese with bacon and gruyere cheese) and a cup of Creamy Tomato Soup. So comfy.

>>7268842
Thanks, man. People get too wound up over the job.

How do I make a bread bowl that shit is so good

>>7269105
Bake sourdough in a sort of breadbowl shape. That's all it is senpai.

>>7269126
I love you

>>7269137
Yee Yee.

When will he lobster sandwich come back?

>>7269162
It had mixed reviews and poses its own issues with storage on the line, so possibly never. I'm not in corporate, though, so that decision is above me.

Went to Panera once and got some kind of roasted turkey sandwich.

Literally tasted like it was microwaved and it was expensive as fuck for a thin sandwich and drink.

I noticed it was full of average looking women with ugg boots and a bunch of nu males, so that tells me it's just a shitty mall tier chain trying to act like they're some kind of upper class hipster chain

Should I buy panera stock right now?

>>7269182
Sounds about right.

>>7269203
I'm not qualified to say.
But I'd wait.

I've been a few times, it's literally Chipotle: the bakery deli.

Neither Chipotle or Panera are a bad place to eat. Decent burrito, decent bread, decent sandwich, clean inoffensive environment, consistency, no niggers. I could go on. I don't hate them at all but I don't really like them much either. The thing that bothers me the most is they hype and the price. The food isn't outstanding, it's fairly overpriced, and there is no reason at all to wet your panties over it. I hate to be condescending but the food is halfway decent but I can't help but wonder when I hear people shit themselves over Panera or Chipotle if they've ever had quick service food outside of Subway and Taco Bell.

>>7269253
You aren't wrong.
The line crew absolutely doesn't get the hype, or how we have people that are there literally every day buying the same thing, sometimes more than once a day.

I think I've only had Panera once... like 5 years ago. All I remember is that the bread was so course that I felt like my mouth was being cut by razors.

I also feel like I'm not Panera's preferred clientèle... I'm a 6'2" white hetero male, contractor that wears a Carhartt jacket and a stetson cowboy hat driving a bigass Ford truck with a "Trump 2016" sticker on the back.
Feels like me pulling in to a Panera might cause a riot among the Prius/Tesla driving feelgood liberals that I see loitering around Panera.

But I think I might give it a try for the lolz.

What's the most calorie dense meal I could get at Panera... for say... less than $15 bucks.

>>7269399
Sick blog post B^)

Fellow Panera coworker. Can voucher that everything that OP said is pretty much true

>>7269427
thanks mang!

looked at Paneras online menu, french onion soup in a bread bowl sound nice. But not enough calories, would need like 2 cinnamon rolls with that.
Cinnamon rolls any good with black coffee?

>>7269462
their cinammon rolls are huge and like 600 calories each. they're aren't the best though, too dry. go for danishes instead.

>>7269465
huh, the online menu calls a danish a "cheese pastry" or a "cherry pastry".
What? Are they too fearful of being offensive to call a danish a danish?

>>7267109
Its basically fast food for white collar office drones.

We get the catering all the time.

>>7269399
Most calorie dense? Easymode would be buying only pastries. In terms of actually ordering a meal, though?

A cursory check would say a You Pick Two with a mac & cheese and a half steak & white cheddar panini.

>>7269038
Pane?

>>7269493
Latin.

>>7266810
panera bread? what is that? like Robert Panero?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ba4dwyLMQY

I'm a baker/cook at a restaurant in the middle of nowhere, unhappy where I'm working.

Literally the only places hiring bakers are local Paneras, seeking overnight work. Is this request so prolific because it is a miserable job to have? I'm a night owl and love to make bread, so it seems like it wouldn't be too shabby. Plus I imagine there's limited (if any) supervision.

Only thing that would get me is it would be a major step down from where I'm at.

>>7269543
You should open your own bakery if you know how and if your middle of nowhere bakery options are literally Panera and a restaurant.

>>7269554

I don't have the funds, nor do I have a silent partner to invest in me.

I am sure that I could get a loan. But I'm a little more concerned about getting a housing loan to guarantee that I have a roof over my head than getting a small business loan for something that might put me in a shit ton of debt with nothing to show for it.

>>7269253
I think fast casual places get hyped because it's a relatively new niche that has grown very fast over the past few years.

When a company can balance quality, quickness, and piece you're going to have middle class people lapping it up because they don't have to eat at McDonald's or overpay for a microwaved meal from Applebee's.

>>7269399
You waaaaaay overestimate how much people are paying attention to you or care. It's actually a little pathetic.

>>7269543
Night bakers are probably the most respected non-management.

You don't have to deal with people, you can pop in your headphones and work, and management leaves with the line workers, so you don't have anybody breathing down your neck while you're there.

The pay is above line workers, but not incredibly high. Think ~11-14 depending on location, though it can go higher if you've been experienced elsewhere I'd imagine.

There usually aren't many night bakers, so you might get stuck with nights that aren't convenient to you, though. The line workers will think you're cool.

If your store does donations, night bakers get first pick on the pastries that don't sell at the end of the day if the donation van doesn't show up.

>>7269399
>being so cucked by the conservative movement that you're worried about going to panera

>>7269598

Sounds awesome to me. Does Panera offer any kind of benefits?

Although I hate my current job, my health package is hard to argue with.

Also, how many people are on the floor during the night shift? Is it just one baker per shift, or are there other people there?

>>7269511
aye

>>7269612
I'm heading out as they're coming in, though I've seen numbers vary from one to three there when I leave. I don't know how their benefits because night bakers are some of the only workers that can expect to get 40 hours a week. All cashiers and line workers are part time, save for the trainers (This is at the store I work at, which is composed 80% of high school and college students).

>>7269621

Ok, thanks for the info.

I'm looking to move, not far enough out of my area to find something much more promising, but too far to stay at my current job without having a ridiculous commute (on top of my other grievances). So this would be a viable option, since Paneras are abundant around here.