The first time I walked into a Panera Bread was in the late 1990s. A new location opened near my college campus and it was an instant hit with everyone. My very first order? Baked potato soup in a bread bowl. I’m pretty sure I had never tasted sourdough bread quite as delicious as the bowls, loafs, and rolls baked fresh every day in the restaurant. This week it was revealed that the fast casual restaurant is permanently shutting down its fresh dough production facilities in certain areas.
Panera Bread Won’t Bake Fresh Bread From Scratch
Panera Bread
Panera Bread is halting operation at bread baking areas in underperforming locations. They are moving away from baking bread from scratch in cafes nationwide. “Great bread is at the heart of the Panera experience and will always be the foundation of who we are,” a spokesperson told us. “Last year, we began a nationwide transition to a new baking model that helps us to have greater availability of the breads our guests love, ensuring quality while allowing us to expand innovation and variety. In this model, we partner with expert artisan bakery producers who follow Panera’s time-honored recipes and use our high-quality ingredients to craft bread that is finished baking in our cafes throughout the day. We deeply value our team members, and we are committed to supporting them through this transition with resources, career opportunities and guidance.”
It Recently Closed Down Another Production Facility
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In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifications notice sent out in July, it was revealed that, a production facility in Brentwood, Missouri, plans to close by Sept. 12. All 72 employees are set to lose their jobs as a result.
Four Locations Have Already Shut Down
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According to Nation’s Restaurant News, four locations across the U.S. had already shut down operations as of June 24. Panera is offering employees who lose their jobs a severance package in addition to outplacement services.
It Is Changing the Way Baked Goods Are Produced
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According to Panera, the latest closure is part of a bigger plan to transition to a new model for how baked goods are produced. Within the next two years, they will close all remaining fresh dough facilities and shift to an “on-demand” bread production model.
Now, Third Party Contractors Will Be Used
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Under the old school model, Panera dough facilities would mix and shape the dough used for its bread and other baked goods. That dough would then be sent to cafés, where it would be proofed and baked in the morning. The new model will use third-party contractors prepare the dough instead while following Panera’s recipes and instructions. They will partially bake, or “par-bake” the bread, then freeze and ship to restaurants for final baking.
There Are Some Benefits of This New Model
According to a spokesperson, this will allow the cafes to prepare all the baked goods as needed throughout the day, instead of just in the morning. The good would be fresher and more readily available for customers. They can also add more restaurants in places where they couldn’t before, due to the limited distance the delivery trucks could travel from the facilities.
