Panera Bread — Restaurant in Oconomowoc

To start off - the Panera employees were very nice, and the issue isn't with staffing - it's with the overall layout of the location. This is also one of my first negative reviews that I have ever posted.

The blueprint is WAY too small for the demand that this Panera going to have in Oconomowoc. Oconomowoc has been begging for a Panera for years now - it received a location that has a total of about 15 parking spaces (not including pick-up/employee spots, which is about 10 total) - I don't know if it's City Planning or Market Analysis, but they very much underestimated total parking and ease of parking for this location - it's going to be a nightmare in the Winter and with a City of ~20k people, they could have picked a better location or made the footprint bigger somehow and somewhere else.

Drive-thru, which can be popular and effective, is not built for a small blueprint Panera like this. The Pewaukee Panera location, which does have its own Drive-thru, does well since its restaurant is bigger, has more parking, and can accommodate more guests. In Oconomowoc, 3 cars in the Drive-thru shouldn't take 20 minutes - I could have placed an order, driven to the Delafield location, picked it up my order, and almost been back in the same amount of time - I've also never waited this long at the Pewaukee location when picking up an order and I don't see this issue getting resolved in Oconomowoc.

I would say a great majority of patrons that go to Panera would tend to sit inside compared to a Taco Bell or McDonald's where Drive-thru is the better option since the food can be made quicker. Panera takes longer to make, which is fine, but this will clog up the Drive-thru if someone comes and places an order for a family of 4.

We go to Panera fairly regularly, but this location isn't going to be an option for us - I, unfortunately, would rather drive to the Delafield location, which is highly disappointing since I was looking forward to the new Oconomowoc...

I’ve never had such a bad impression of Panera until this one and I’ve tried this chain all over Milwaukee and Waukesha counties for years. I understand it’s a new location, but it’s built way too small for the demand and it’s dirty despite having a plethora of employees! There’s no cutlery anywhere to grab. I was annoyed that I ordered soup to go and they didn’t even give me a spoon! Good thing I checked before I left. I waited so long for my food that I just ended up eating it on the patio so I wasn’t late for work. There’s barely any seating inside.

I initially ordered on the kiosk, but every single option I tried was out of something. How are you out of avocado, various cheeses, LETTUCE?! I tried to use a code I got online for $5 off and it wouldn’t allow me on the kiosk. After wasting almost 10 minutes, I finally had to see a human cashier to complete my order. I will say she was very nice and helpful, but I’m sorry. I’m turned off by someone who has very long fake nails when handling food. It grosses me out. When I worked at a restaurant back in the day, my manager wouldn’t even allow chipped nail polish much less acrylic nails.

Overall, I don’t think I’ll be back even though I was really looking forward to this Panera opening in Oconomowoc. They should have studied the Panera in New Berlin off Moorland & Beloit Rd. That place is large, has a smooth drive through/rapid pick up area, and has never looked as dirty as the one in Oconomowoc even though their capacity is twice as big if not bigger. Sorry, Panera. Maybe new...

I’m comparing this location to the Delafield Panera Bread, which has set the bar pretty high in my book. My first visit here was a little underwhelming, but I’m keeping in mind it’s only week one. Like bread dough, restaurants need time to rise, and I’ll be curious to see how things shape up in a few weeks.

The soup-in-a-bread-bowl situation threw me off. Here, the bread and soup are separate, and you’re handed the DIY project of hollowing it out and pouring the soup in yourself. I didn’t know I’d be earning a carb-surgeon badge with my lunch. To top it off, the bread bowl felt a little underdone—whereas Delafield nails that perfect balance of airy middle and crisp crust.

The baguette leaned heavy on the flour aftertaste, but to Panera’s credit, my daughter’s mac & cheese was spot-on—as it always is. Some things in life are comforting constants, like gravity and Panera’s mac & cheese.

All in all, this place is still in its ‘starter yeast’ phase. I’m hopeful that, given some time, the atmosphere, staff, and bread will catch that same magic Delafield seems to have bottled up. After all, every good loaf needs time...