Panera Bread — Restaurant in Columbus

This isn't a complaint about the restaurant as a whole. My complaint is about this store specifically. First, as background, I have gone to many Panera in many areas. I love the healthy choices and its atmosphere and at most Panera I get great service. For some reason, not at this one. Here are a few examples: *Every time I have gone they have screwed up my order. We usually order to go from this one as it is a lunch and quick dinner option. We're talking completely the wrong salads, missing whole parts of the order, cold sandwiches or soups (that should have been hot) or even getting salads with no toppings! And I do mean this happens every time. Even when we have gone to sit down. *Maybe this isn't supposed to happen but at other Panera when I or those with me have requested altered menu items we have no issues. We have requested spinach instead of lettuce or salads with no meat or cheese and fruits instead or fruit sides or substitutes. Yes we do sometimes pay extra, but that's not an issue. For some reason this particular Panera tends to have a huge issue with it which is compounded by never getting the order right even if they agree to the alteration. Subsequently we stopped asking for altered items and yet they still get the orders wrong.

I'm completely baffled by this and since it is my more convenient Panera, very annoyed. It is not even a matter of, "Just go up and ask for a fixed order," when it happens during busy Panera hours and often when I ordered take-out and I'm home by the time I realize the issue. It has resulted in me only rarely ordering food from this restaurant.

For anyone else going here, triple check what they hand you and speak up if...

⭐ 1/5 - Unbelievable Service

We’ve been loyal customers of this Panera location for years, especially since it’s conveniently located next to a Tesla charging station on our frequent road trips through Ohio. Normally, we love stopping here, but after our experience on 3/15/2025, we won’t be back.

We arrived around 7:30 PM with four kids and two adults, all ready for a relaxing meal after hours of driving. We placed our order, including a bread bowl for my wife. The cashier informed us that they were out of bread bowls for the day, which was fine—until we noticed an entire rack of fresh, perfectly baked bread bowls sitting right behind him. Naturally, we asked why there were so many bread bowls if they were supposedly out, and that’s when things went downhill.

He called over his manager, Kyra (or Kyla? I’m not sure), who was incredibly rude. She insisted that those bread bowls were “for tomorrow” and refused to give us one, despite the fact that the restaurant was still open for another two hours. We tried to reason with her, explaining it was just one bread bowl for an $80 order, but she wouldn’t budge. It felt like she was reading from a script, repeating "this is for tomorrow" over and over.

I asked for the owner's name and phone number, and she refused to give me the number, only offering the name and telling me to Google the store's contact info. Unbelievable. We ended up leaving, hungry and frustrated, because of a single bread bowl.

The service here has seriously gone downhill, and we’re done. I can’t recommend this location to anyone anymore—there are plenty of other places that value their customers. Save yourself the hassle and frustration. Avoid...

I keep trying to see if my favorite food brand is finally getting it together & i keep getting highly disappointed. Walked in after a long day on the road. Exhausted. Hungry. Ordered Pick 2 w/half salad & soup on the app from the parking lot. Made sure i selected 'need utensils' on the check-out page. While standing there i took note of the waiting area & the dining area. Not as filthy as most of the last several locations i've been to around the USA im the last couple years, but dirty none-the-less. Cup lids, straws, sugar & salt packets on the floor. Splash residue on the side of the coumter & walls. Just a layer of grime in customer-facing areas. (And it looks like theyve done away with Tabasco packets). The app notified me that my order was done... and it still took 3 or 4 mintues to get to my hands. I was too tired to check the bag but would regret it. Got to the hotel & NO FORKS OR SPOONS OR NAPKINS. fuming. Went to the hotel lobby & found some utensils. Pulled the salad out the bag & the salad dressing container was less than half full. double fuming. 8 bites in & the little bit of dressing that i could find didn't taste right. I trust my nose & my tastebuds. I threw the rest of the salad away. This is not a location problem. This is an upper-level management problem. A good brand dying right before our...