Panera Bread

Panera Bread has always been a favorite of mine. During our most recent visit, you could notice no one checked to see how everything was, no tables were clean, as with the shortage of help most everywhere, I hope this is the reason that no one was concerned about a customer being pleased with their food. It's a much different Panera than I used to love!

I'm grateful this Panera has lasted in this location, especially post pandemic. Like most food service providers it's biggest issue is staffing, but I always receive great service especially in the morning. The store manager, Denise, is amazing with customers and she's always out there in the thick of it with her crew leading by example. I work with special needs adults and I love bringing them here because of the warm friendly atmosphere.

Visited last Thursday and Diet Pepsi was out, so I reported that to the counter staff, but did not have time to wait for possible replacement. Three days later when visiting again for lunch, the Diet Pepsi was still out, as now noted by a sticker on the machine. After requesting to switch my soda order for a coffee, staff let me know that they do not expect to have the product restocked until Wednesday. Restocking does not take as long in other areas of the country. Food ordered by my group were good, but added items were mismatched from our orders.

We love getting a bowl of chile at Paneras and having a car picnic along the Narragansett wall. Then we enjoy a walk along the wall and on Narragansett Beach. A great day at the beach/wall wouldn't be the same without a stop at Panera Bread first. Their salads, sandwiches, bagels, coffee/lattes and pastries wonderful too.

At first blush I was a little worried as the line for ordering was rather long, but the staff is very efficient at this location and a long line was quickly handled. The food was also prepared quickly, we had barely sat down and it was ready. The orders were all correct, and consistent with my previous experience with Panera. It's good food fast. The restaurant was clean, given the crowd here that in itself is impressive. The bathrooms as well were tidy and not something out of a horror movie as they sometimes can be.