Panera Bread — Restaurant in Green Oak Charter Township

Let me set the scene: it’s a chill day, I’m hungry, I walk into Panera Bread with a simple request — a meal that contains both warmth and dignity. I order a Bacon Mac & Cheese, a Turkey Bacon Bravo, apple, and a drink. Easy stuff. It’s not a 14-course tasting menu. We’re not plating microgreens with tweezers. Just… bacon, cheese, bread, drink. How hard could it be?

Apparently… very.

First red flag: I get my bag of food, but no drink cup. No “here you go,” no “oops, forgot,” just silence. I stood there holding my bag like a confused Sims character. So I shuffle back up to the counter and ask, “Hey, I think I was supposed to get a drink with this?” They hand me a cup like it’s a secret handshake. Cool. Off to the soda machine I go.

Now this is where things take a turn. The soda machine? About as lively as a group text after someone says, “We should all hang out soon.” I tried Pepsi, Dr Pepper, Starry, even the bubbler drinks — all of them were flatter than a pancake at sea level. I kept tasting them like I was judging a silent sparkling water competition. Just… sadness in a cup.

Still, I held out hope for the food. Panera’s supposed to be the place that makes you feel like a cozy suburban Pinterest board, right?

Wrong.

My Bacon Mac & Cheese? First of all, it showed up with the same energy as a leftover that forgot it was supposed to be hot. Just sitting there like, “Oh… you wanted warm food?” And then — plot twist — no bacon. None. Just mac. Just cheese. Bacon was clearly out living its best life somewhere else. I was out here chewing through creamy carbs and wondering where the main character went.

So once again, I become that person. I head back to the counter, do the “sorry to bother you” shuffle, and say, “Hey, uh… I think this is missing the bacon?” They hand me a sad scoop of bacon in a little cup. Like a tiny prize for surviving the first round of disappointment.

At this point, I’m not even mad. I’m just impressed. This was like ordering lunch from the multiverse. Every item felt like it came from a slightly different timeline.

Final scorecard:

Forgot my drink? ✅

Soda machine in mourning? ✅

Lukewarm food? ✅

Bacon MIA? ✅

Panera didn’t serve me a meal. They served me a scavenger hunt.

Still love the vibes and their food overall, though. But if I wanted to assemble my own lunch with bonus side quests,...

Stopped by for quick dinner on my way to pick up my husband from the airport Sunday 9/4 around 6:00pm. First thing I noticed was how dirty the restaurant was. But, I was in a hurry so I decided to go ahead and order. The employee who took my order was nice, but I was alone and ordered a full sandwich and cup of soup. She didn't ask if I wanted chips or bread and just gave me 2 chips. So I had to pick my crust off my sandwich and dunk in soup. I purposely ordered full sandwich so I had half to share with husband. I don't don't know why I ordered dine in because I didn't have anything to take the other half of the sandwich in. I asked the sandwich makers (not realizing there were two go items next to counter) until after I was given a dirty look and a to go for like a fritter or cookie. Also, I sat waiting for my order that clearly had my name on the ticket, and it was never called. I finally got up and checked and yep it was mine. Sandwich and soup were good. But, wow the whole store is disgustingly filthy. I don't think any of the tables had been wiped. Food all over the floor and when I walked back to get the to go containers, the prep line was awful. There were a few kids running the line and one complaining they wanted to go home. Seems they would have been spending more time cleaning and preparing to go home than complaining. A woman in a flannel shirt was telling them what not to restock. Seems she could have instructed them to clean. I don't know, finding help that cares isn't easy. Definitely not sure what was going on. But I do know more attention needed to be spent cleaning. Bathroom was gross too. Out of...

Soup, sandwiches and salads in our order were correct. However, they forgot our mini scones on the back counter, and when I returned to the counter, to show my receipt and inquire about them, I was ignored by the girl preparing food. Finally, another person asked if I needed help. I told her that my mini scones were forgotten and motioned to the back counter where a bag of mini scones was sitting. I showed my receipt and she handed me the bag. After I returned to my table, I saw that my husbands soup spoon was smeared with some kind of creamy soup or sauce. I went back to the pick up area, where the same girl that ignored me the last time ignored me again until I asked if she could please give me a clean spoon. She reached it to a metal container and put a spoon on the counter for me. Which would have been fine, but the second spoon also had something that had run down the handle of the spoon and was partially dried on to it. I said oh, this one is dirty too, could I please have another? She said, “all of our silverware looks like that due to our hard water.” I said oh, okay. It isn’t hard water, it is the food running down the handle that I don’t want... it is dirty. She grabbed both spoons off the counter and threw another one on the counter before turning away from me in frustration... this spoon was not the cleanest either, so I went to the restroom and washed it in the sink. Poor customer service. 😞 wish I would’ve taken photos. It...