Panera Bread — Restaurant in Daytona Beach

We went in this store to use the bathroom since we were going to get Chic fil a next door- but their dining room wasn’t open and needed to use the bathroom. Decided to get a cookie to “pay” for the bathroom usage. Changed our mind and decided to eat there. I have been to many, many Panera Breads all over the US, and this was by far the worst experience. The bathrooms were littered with TP and things didn’t look like they had been cleaned today. (Should have been my first warning- but I didn’t pay attention) Ordered from very nice young lady- she was patient with my changes from Apple to bread as a side. No problems ordering our two pick -2s with soups.

I was the only person waiting for food but apparently there were Togo orders backing up. There was one red headed girl (trainer) preparing food that I could see and a male around behind where the ovens are. As I am standing there, the guy that came in and ordered 5 minutes after me gets his salad. My husband’s soup is put into a bowl and set on the counter. My sandwich is set on the plate. A few minutes later his sandwich is haphazardly placed on his plate and the top piece of bread falls off onto the counter below. Girl comes and looks at it, I comment that the bread fell off, she picks up the whole thing and throws it away. My sandwich has now been on the counter plated for 10 minutes. Guy emerged from the back with more soup and now I have soup in a bowl. New sand watch appears for my husband, my sandwich has been sitting there for 15 minutes- minimum. (Timed from receipt) I ask for a new one and girl started to say something and stopped. I grab plates and take to the table and go back and wait for my sandwich. 4 minutes go by and it is finally done. Murmured apology for the wait and that is it.

Food was good, first soup was cool, my soup was okay temp wise. Sandwiches were good. Dining room was a mess, look like an army of kindergartners had been through, trash all over the floor, chairs everywhere, tables sticky (visibly) and plate return overflowing. Just gross.

All of a sudden there were Panera employees everywhere but doing very little. Apparently this store is not...

This used to be one of my favorite places to eat due to their fresh food, sandwiches, and soups. However, my recent visit was quite disappointing. I ordered a "Pick Two" with chips and a drink at the kiosk. When I went to the register to ask for a drink cup, I was told to get it at the end where I pick up the meal. I didn't see any cups and felt a lack of trust for their employees or even to me.

When I walked to the end, no one was working on food initially. After a few minutes, someone called my name and handed me a cup. Almost immediately, I received a text message saying my meal was ready. However, when I went to pick it up, nothing was there. The staff member had just started preparing the meal. He quickly assembled the bread, soup, and half sandwich, then told me it was mine. I asked about the chips instead of the bread, and he added them to the plate before walking away.

After a couple of bites, I realized the soup was tomato instead of the Mexican street corn soup I ordered. I went back to change it, and another employee, who appeared out of nowhere, gave me the correct soup in a to-go container.

This visit was an hour and a half before closing, which might explain the issues. However, two out of the four items were incorrect, and it seemed like they marked my order as ready just to meet a timer, not because it was actually prepared. Overall, this experience was disappointing and not up to Panera's...

I havnt been to Panera in about two years... my overall experience is what gave the three stars the food was all fresh and taste great.

Service: what service? You do it all yourself at a computer!

I got a pick two. Half salad with chicken and Mac and cheese. I was very surprised as the portion size of the Mac and cheese .... it was okay for me because I didn’t want to be too full but I can believe I paid that much money for what I got. They have really cut back .. the chicken in the salad was surprisingly good.

What I really didn’t like because I’ve worked in fast food and am currently a manager in retail is that there were two managers on right by the one girl that was prepong all the food orders one was doing some sort it checklist/inventory not paying attention to the girl needed some support and was overwhelmed... and the other manager was clearing the screen before people were even getting the food orders.. my buzzer went off 4 minutes before I even got my food...

Anyway it really shouldn’t of took my 12 minutes to wait for a half salad and Mac and cheese ... and the managers need to support their staff if they’re gonna stick one person in the kitchen to do it themselves and I’m disappointed with the price because the portions are so small ...

But the blood orange lemonade...