Panera Bread — Restaurant in Town of Brookhaven

Panera used to be a great place with a nice environment, but something definitely changed in the last year/few months.

Some employees are very nice, especially those making the food, but in particular there has been one lady who works in the mornings that is very rude and keeps giving a small drink when I ordered a large. I've learned to avoid her by doing a mobile order then asking for the cup when I get there, since they barely ever put the drinks out anyway (for theft, I guess?)

Skimping out on food portions as others mentioned, to the point that in comparison to their Selden location (which is the best out of those local to Port Jeff!) gives almost 1.5-2x the amount.

Some of their food is less fresh than McDonald's! I've had wilted lettuce and brown specks on them before.

In particular, the reason I am raising these concerns now is that their customer service has definitely gone down. Before, I would just ignore it because at very least the good workers outweighed the bad. However, as of recent, I and a friend have visited with our service dog.

On our first visit, we were told to keep her on the floor for hygiene purposes, which we have adhered to ever since. However, each time we visit, we get the feeling we are not welcome. One manager in particular keeps coming up and repeatedly asking if she is a service dog. I understand not remembering us, however, we've visited five times and he seems to recognize us.

He keeps telling us we can't have pets in the store, to which we say she is a service dog and even offer to show him physician letters proving this. He has repeatedly told us that he "doesn't think she is a service dog". He is also rude to one of us in particular, who has a communication disorder, and does not let her speak to explain about the service dog. This is very distressing for her and we see him instruct his employees to watch out for us so he can ask about our service animal the next time we come in (this is the 4th time this has happened). We are happy to cooperate with restaurant owners and, again, even offered to show proof that she is a service animal (which is not required of us, but we offer anyway).

I wanted to cancel my sip club subscription and pressed the button to do so in the app, but admittedly, I did not get a confirmation email and should have checked. I still got charged for the yearly subscription (which went up just like all of their prices did!) At this point, I don't care about the money and will continue to use the subscription, but others should beware and check their bank statements after cancellation!

Avoid this location if you can, others nearby are...

• THIS IS A WARNING TO CHECK THE BACK OF YOUR GIFT CARD BEFORE BUYING IT HERE (or anywhere else, really)! MAKE SURE THE PIN NUMBER IS NOT SCRATCHED OFF! IF IT IS, SOMEONE TOOK A PHOTO OF THE ENTIRE NUMBER AND IS GOING TO USE IT WHEN MONEY IS LOADED ONTO IT! *

(4/25/2024) I bought my friend a gift card here today for $25. After I bought it I realized the PIN was already scratched off. Went back in and the cashier said the money’s on there and everything should be fine. But my mom was suspicious (saying someone must’ve scratched the PIN, taken a photo of the number, and is gonna use it when money is loaded onto it) and so she called and spoke to the manager, Vinny. Vinny said he can’t do anything about it. Can’t give us a new gift card, use the current one to buy a new one, or anything. Vinny said if anything does happen (if someone unknown uses it) he’ll “take care of it.”

I’ll update here if anything else does occur in this situation, and if Vinny or another manager helps us or not.

UPDATE (4/26/2024): Corporate’s giving me a...

this is by far the worst Panera Bread location in the tri-state area. the help don't know what they're doing, and they are usually understaffed so be prepared to wait. Then be prepared for what they will serve up to you. You may feel like your in a soup kitchen...sandwiches falling apart, soup spilled onto the plate, bruised apples (stick with potato chips...they're in a bag from the manufacturer, so the staff can't ruin them). My suggestion would be to take your food out and eat in your car..I'm sure you will find your car cleaner than the dining room which is always a mess with uncleared tables, over-stacked receptacles for used plates and trash, which may explain why the carpet is usually littered with crumbs, wrappers and napkins. Dare I mention the men's room !? I'll spare you, just think the worst. If this is a franchise location, they deserve to have it taken away from them. If it's company owned, then SHAME ON...