Panera Bread — Restaurant in Virginia

My wife, children, and I met for lunch with my Mother while we were traveling. Everyone except my son ordered food from Panara. He has dietary restrictions, and there is nothing on the menu that we are comfortable with him eating. We brought a small meal for him and discreetly sat at a table in the corner of the restaurant. Everyrhing was going well untill a manager came and told us my son had to leave because he was not eating "panara" food. We tried to explain the restriction and that asking a 9 year old to go eat in the car by himself was cruel. The manager told us repeatedly that it was "not him" and that it was a "corporate policy" (we have since found out that there is no policy forcing managers to remove children from a restaurant for eating "non Panara" food). From his explanation this would include toddlers and infants as well. We are regulars at our local Panara in Cape Coral FL, and have NEVER been treated with such disrespect and cruelty. Even though there were others in the restaurant eating "non Panara" food, including an employee, we obeyed the demands of the manager and found a place to sit outside, untill the no shade, high heat and swarming bees were roo much for my 4 year old daughters, and we tossed our half eaten meals into the trash.. We said goodbye to my childrens grandmother, feeling embarrassed, harassed, unappreciated, and sad. What should have been a happy time for my kids was ruined by the poor management at Panara, and a lack of common decency on a human level. I hope my words find someone with compassion and they are in a position to change the policies at this particular Panara to make all quests feel welcomed regardless of their medical and...

Not pleased.

The place doesn’t feel cozy or welcoming like the other Panera Breads in the area. Not to mention, kind of hard to access from Lorton Market street. It feels crowded even when there aren’t that many people around. Having said that, the bathrooms are small, and if you order to dine in while inside there is almost no room to wait… the area for waiting is next to the big family table, so if it’s occupied it’s kind of awkward. The only reprieve to that is to sit down first (or order at the Rapid Kiosks) and grab a table.

The color scheme is the same and so is the menu - the food is great and so are the drinks. The service, I will share a somewhat negative story but am not letting it affect the rating. My 8 year old daughter went to the bathroom but then someone in the bathroom said they were all out of toilet paper and asked her to ask for more - which my daughter did promptly while needing to use the rest room. 10 minutes later that same person is still walking around behind the counter not really doing much - maybe they had other tasks, but 10 minutes to for a kid to wait for the bathroom is a long time. This was likely a one time event.

Other than that, the place is clean and staff are efficient in helping and serving. They are patient if you don’t know what you want and are willing to clear up any confusion for your order.

I have not tried the drive thru yet, so that is why a partial rating for now. Will update...

Update: HOW COULD PEOPLE SUCK SO MUCH AT THEIR JOB!!!!??? I have yet to get an order that was done correctly. Today I ordered a Chicken Signature Sandwich…paid extra for the avocado…RESULT: No avocado and they forgot the cheese crisps.

Update: 7 months and several attempts later, I’m yet to place an order that is done right. Make sure to inspect your order before you leave.

Attempted to place an order via the drive through. Waited 3 minutes an no one came to the intercom so I drove up to the window. A girl walked up, looked at me confused, looked at the order screen and since she didn’t see an order she shrugged her shoulders and walked away…didn’t even bother to open the window. I then walked inside, and noticed 3 employees hanging out by the registers, to include the one that walked away from the drive through window, + another serving 1 customer…I left!

Excited to see a Panera in town but clearly they have a ways to go when it comes to customer service and...