Panera Bread — Restaurant in Kent

Cafe style restaurant with bakery and fresh ingredients you can taste. I hadn’t been here in a very long time so I had to refresh myself as to how things go. You order your food at the counter first either at a kiosk or with a service person. We opted to talk to someone since we were unfamiliar. The man at the counter was nice however, every time a pick up person walked in, he turned away to help them even while I was answering his questions. Then he would turn back and ask me again what did I say? There was another person at the counter to help but he just wanted to be I charge of everything I guess. Although it was annoying since it happened three separate times, it was nice because I wanted to know if they could make my tuna sandwich into a melt. Which they were able to toast it at least. We were given our drink cups to fill ourselves and a pager. The service guy gave us a free drink since he probably could tell I was a little annoyed by his lack of attention. We sat ourselves and waited for the buzzer. It was only 5-10 min wait and we found our food waiting at a counter. Nice and hot and eye pleasing! The tuna had arugula, tomato, red onions - no cheese which is why it’s not a melt. Lol They ran out of bread that usually accompanies the soup to dip so they subbed kettle chips which was fine. The chicken tiki Marsala had so many wonderful flavors and spices. It was nice to have a contrast with the tuna and broccoli cheddar soup! They were both so very delicious and perfect for a rainy day as we planned to walk to the Showare center to watch the Thunderbirds game after. We didn’t know what to do with our dirty dishes so we sat a bit and watched other customers pick up their dishes and take them to a station where you throw away your unfinished items or trash and stack up the dishes. Easy peasy. It was a great place to grab something quick with a healthier vibe. Definitely worthy of...

I’ve been being in my dad, who is in assisted living, here for about 4 years almost every week for lunch. He doesn’t walk well anymore and loves soup, consistency, and people watching. When we arrive, more often than not, other customers help hold open the double doors to help dad fit his walker through easier. A great start to a visit as its people from all walks of life, all ages, all genders, Al, races, and various capabilities. Warms the heart. Over the years there have been some good and some not so good meals. Most of the time the consistency and quality is good. The best part for us though, has been the people. There used to be an tiny older lady that cleared and cleaned the tables that dad had a wee crush on. She always stopped to talk to us; but sadly, she didn’t return now that Covid restrictions eased. Then there was the older lady at the counter who always remembered me and asked how dad was doing this week, she’s gone now too. But, this brings me to the best of all, a newer cashier, CeCe! Our second or third week with her working there, I was greeted by a “Hi miss Renee, how are you? As I approached the order counter. I was shocked as nobody there had ever used my name until seeing it after inputting my membership number first. She then remembered our last order and asked if we wanted the same, right down to dad’s favorite cookie! Again, this was before she input my membership number. This week, I noticed she does this with many customers. WOW! CeCe is amazing and is the textbook definition of GREAT customer service. Panera managers…DO NOT let this beautiful soul leave (but please promote as appropriate) and teach the others employees to be like her. CeCe’s a treasure and makes our visits more pleasant than ever before. Thanks so much CeCe and I’ll see you...

Consitently have issues at this Panera location. I am tempted to stop going if I could but my family love the food. In general excellent selection of salads, soups and sandwiches. Love the whole grain flat breads. Love the free WiFi and plenty of electric outlets on every corner of the dining area so I can charge my electrical devices while I have my lunch or a quick snack. Like the fact that all the food have no artificial ingredients or preservatives. Now, if they can also offer organic options, that would be even more fantastic! The app is easy to use for order ahead for pickup. Highly recommend you get the Panera card and the app if you plan to eat here. The rewards, even if you don't eat here that often.

3 Stars is a comment on ACCURACY. So, despite the service rvice here is almost always very friendly, every several orders or so something always messes up. Example: Order to go of certain bagel, then when picking up was told it is out. Sandwich special order made incorrectly either the cashier entered it incorrectly or the kitchen makes it incorrectly (when pointed out, the blame game is on). Today, my order completely was missed. It is an order of 3 bagels. My guess is there is a miscommunication between the kitchen and bakery staff. Mishaps like this happens often enough that I check my take out order every time before leaving the store or gets frustrated and angry later. If i can get through a month without issues, i would love to upgrade to 4 or even 5 stars. August 2020 Update: 4 stars. Thank you for being open during this pandemic. The curbside pickup is very convenient and your app is very intuitive and...