Panera Bread — Restaurant in Allen Park

I admit I'm a little disappointed. Husband ordered flat bread pizza which was mediocre at best (chewy bacon and flavorless crust), my turkey BLT sandwich was fabulous and so was his chicken & wild rice soup (today's big winner) but my salad needed some help. It was chicken & fugi apple. The manager brought it over to the table, which was nice, and although the salad looked pretty, there were a couple of chunks of brown lettuce in there and everything was barely chopped. I don't think whole rings of onion and slices of chicken 4" long worked well for me with no knife and a plastic fork. The apples are dehydrated chips which was also kindof shocking. They weren't quite chips either. Trying to cut those with a plastic fork was also menacing. They were laced along the top like a garnish and tough to maneuver around. I would've preferred raw apple slices and had I realized, I would've selected something different. Thank goodness my husband had a pocket knife to loan me to chop it all up. It was also very cold in there and the dining room was filled with guests sitting at booths designated to stay vacant due to Covid. Not one employee noticed or if they did, nothing was said. Husband had to wait to use the restroom because it was being cleaned, at noon, and after ward, he went to wash his hands and there was no paper and no blower. A common mishap to overlook paper replacement I suppose. So much for this restaurant trying to be germ-free. Leaving door handles wet is creepy. I think the happy, bubbly staff members need to huddle at the beginning of each shift to keep a few things in mind while customers pour in for lunch. There was a sign on the table that stated that that area was sanitized frequently. How much are they paying attention to the cleanliness of the tables if they aren't watching where guests are sitting or that the bathroom cleaning is "finished" with no paper? Crumbs are left on the seats and social distancing is nearly impossible because the aisles are narrow in the dining room. Removing a table or two might help with social distancing and eliminate the confusion of where guests can sit or not sit. These things won't prevent us from going back, but if we're faced with a choice of another lunch time treat, we may choose the other simply because the Panera staff overlooks a LOT of details that seem like common sense. That makes me wonder about the kitchen and what bad habits they've...

Panera is NOT CLEAN.

They make the sandwiches by grabbing handfuls of meat and pressing it on the bread then grabbing handfuls of the veggies with the same meaty hand. I watched them from the drive through when they screwed up my order. Then they move on to the next order without changing gloves!!! They continue on and on. You never know what meat juice and bacteria will end up on your sandwich. This is disgusting!!! If you have an allergy to ham, well you will have it on your bread from the disgustingly gross gloves that the employee used from a previous order. Or if you are a vegan or vegetarian your sandwich or salad is loaded with meat bacteria. Cross contamination!!! I'm surprised there have not been any food poisoning cases!!!

I called the manager after I got home and they screwed up my order AGAIN. I asked him if that was standard procedure and he said yes. If you want it another way, you have to request it. I asked if they used utensils and he said no, they use gloved hands that they don't change. How crappy is that of Panera????? Meat hands should not be going in with the vegetables!!!

I think everyone needs to know how unsanitary their kitchen really is. I am contacting corporate to see if this is actually how.

I'm thinking it's just poor management because this store is always a mess inside. Every time we try to eat inside there is not one clean table. I've complained to management inside several times because we can't sit at a clean table. One for just looked at me and walked away. I had to grab a rag from the counter to clean a table for my daughter and I. The the rest of the customers in the dining room had to use the same rag to clean their tables. That was terrible on that managers part. She is not above cleaning tables!!!!! I should have never went back.

So I just hit the drive through instead, but they can never ever seem to get an order right. This place is way too expensive to have such terrible service!!!

Now we are so disgusted with what we witnessed we will never go back again.

I'm hoping it's not corporate wide policy. If so, Panera will be losing business once word gets out and people are aware that they...

The only reason I didn't give Panera 5 stars is because of an issue I have every time I go there. I order broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl (one of my favorite restaurant foods ever!), and it comes with a side. Well, the bread bowl is made of sourdough (which is genius), so I don't want a French baguette, and I don't care for the other side options - so I ask when I'm ordering if I can please have my side be slices of sourdough bread - just the kind they use to make sandwiches with. That way, I'm not stuck with a side I don't like, and I have more sourdough bread for dipping! I see the person type that in the computer, so I know the order-fulfillers can see it on the order. Well, I guess they don't look at the tickets pretty much, because every time, I pick up my order from the counter, and there's a French baguette in there! So I have to get the attention of one of the order-fulfillers, explain the situation, and get my sourdough slices - and a lot of time, they just hand me one or two half-slices - so essentially, one slice of bread. That doesn't equate. So then I have to explain that too, and get a couple more slices! It's just a huge pain in the butt, and I just don't like that people aren't reading the whole tickets - nevermind this; what about people with food allergies?? They could kill someone with their hurriedness and/or laziness! Oh, plus, when I give them back the baguette, they throw it away, even if I haven't touched it, because it has already left the food prep area! Of course I can't keep it, because I'm getting a different side... I hate food waste!! Just one more reason I have a big issue with this problem!

BUT!!! Besides that issue, they are GREAT!!! The food is outstandingly delicious, the staff is almost always very friendly and helpful, and the setup/layout is great, with a nice atmosphere. So, like I said, this Panera would get 5 stars, but I just can't ignore this constant problem! Overall, really...