BREAD CO

St. Louis Bread Company opened its first location in 1987 in Kirkwood, Missouri (a St. Louis suburb and my former hometown.)  Word spread about this yummy little café/bakery.  Its popularity swelled, as did the number of locations.  National companies began to take notice and in 1993, Au Bon Pain Co. purchased St. Louis Bread Company and took the concept national.  With the expansion, the bakery/café’s name was changed to Panera.

In its headquarters city of St. Louis, Panera Bread still operates under the name St. Louis Bread Company. The St. Louis metropolitan area has over 101 locations.

The San Antonio area has six.

Six?  Really?

Bread Co (as it is lovingly called by St. Louisans) is a social hub.  It is where friends meet for coffee or lunch.  It is where your volunteer organization congregates over smoothies to organize the next event.  It’s the go-to place for breakfast or if your group needs a catered lunch.

At noon, the parking lot at Bread Co is jammed; the lines are long; the tables are full.

Regulars battle the crowd, approaching the cashier with confidence, their My Panera card in hand, hoping that their frequent visits will entitle them to a free soda or pastry.  They order confidently, the menu already committed to memory.  They slide on to chairs still warm from the last patron’s backside.

It’s different in San Antonio.  Bread Co, or Panera has it’s called in the rest of the country, is relatively unknown.  I can walk into my local Panera at noon and find tables available.  There is rarely a line to order.  When there is, however, even if it’s one person, it takes a long time.  The locals aren’t familiar with the menu.   The whole “pick-2” option is alien.  They have a dozen questions.  The cashier explains slowly, as if trying to remember himself.  I could explain more clearly and confidently (and have been tempted!)

When I step to the cashier and whip out My Panera card, the cashier looks at it for a moment, unsure.  When he finally slides it through the computer’s scanner, I ask if I have any rewards available.  He doesn’t know; his machine won’t tell him.  What?  When I order my favorite Fuji Apple Chicken Salad, they don’t put chicken on it.  Double what??

Don’t misunderstand, I’m delighted to still have access to Bread Co.  The food is as good as always (especially when they remember the chicken).  But I miss seeing the familiar faces that could generally be found in a booth or two and I miss the confidence behind the cash register (The noon team in Sunset Hills was incredible.)  I refuse to give up on my local Bread Co, but they could benefit from a field trip to St. Louis.