Panera Bread — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Started coming back after many years, it’s mostly been ok with the sip club. Not really under their control, but have had people just come right up and panhandle me at the table, it’s more of a rapid societal decay issue but still unsettling. Customers rearrange tables in a manner that traps people in their spot while their kids gyrate, parkour and hop up and down like bunnies on adderal and I feel this is more of a spot to do work from home type of loitering and it’s unbecoming of the environment. There are certain times of day employees are constantly hyena laughing and snickering and being loud. Sure, many of us regulars are weird, you know it. We know it. Get some manners.

Update: I stayed away for about 6 weeks because two morning people made me uncomfortable. I’ve come back and each day is worse. First no ice, then soda machine broken, now (Sunday 10-16 a big cold puddle in front of the drink fixings station and old people hobbling around determined to fall because of it. It was packed and the patio had super aggressive pigeons who would literally stand on my feet. I guess I’ll go to Division or Lincolnwood if I want Panera.

edit: corporate has comped me for several bad visits. Last bagel I cashed in was to be sliced and toasted, it seemed like it only spend nanoseconds in the toaster. Two self serve kiosks were down as the third was creating a bottleneck by the door. Some kind of something makes customers alternate bolt around fast indoors inches from you or stand right in your way, whichever is immediately more annoying to you. Judging from other reviews this location probably needs to close for awhile for retraining/ rehiring.

Further edit: tried to order delivery at night, out of everything. Corporate gave me a free muffin. Ordered delivery in the morning, bagel did not come with butter and it looked more like they passed a lighter in one corner rather than toasting it. Corporate comped me again. I feel reimbursed for buying sip club full price and cancelled again. The most annoying yuppiefied people set up shop here, Marie Osmond teeth glistening with smug as they yell out into their iPhones. It’s tightly packed and yet every single person zooms around, especially out of doors and the bathroom like a linebacker. Panhandlers approach tables out of the blue demanding cash. I have decided at this point to not go back until I start seeing better reviews. I won’t hold my breath. Out of...

Haven’t had Panera in awhile and I was craving gourmet comfort food I used to get there. While the food is still good, after the service and experience at those location I doubt I’ll ever go back. My husband and I went in for Friday night dinner. It wasn’t really busy. First thing I see when you walk in is a kiosk station to place my own order, inconveniently located right at the front door. Only 2 of the 3 computers were working and they were occupied by people that clearly didn’t know what they wanted cause we had to wait almost 10 min for them to finish. While we and other customers waited we started to form a tiny crowd blocking the doorway. I see one woman at the counter (an area with more than ample space to accommodate customers waiting to order) stocking pastries but not actually tending to anyone. At what point/time do you see people waiting and open up to take their order?! While waiting I also noticed signs that read that the Pepsi machine was not working and I didn’t see and bottled water anywhere. For a location that hasn’t been there for too long, things are breaking down pretty quickly there. When we did finally order we were disappointed to see you no longer make paninis. We ordered and waited for our food; no longer using the pagers, that go off when ready, but watching a screen that shows your name. The waiting area was a mess! There was a booth, full of supplies, being used as an employee lunch/break area and the pick up counter was also full of supplies, monitor with wires, clipboard and papers. I understand a business needs space for this but it should be kept away from customer’s eyes or more neatly organized. Got our sandwiches and left. When we took the out of the bag, the sandwiches. One had a label where they could check what type of sandwich. Nothing was labeled, probably cause none of the options were the actual sandwich. The other sandwich was labeled “chocolate chip”. AND YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO HAVE A TIP JAR?!!! Panera...

So how does lunch at Panera for one person get to be almost $25?

Certainly, Panera prices have gone up exponential as of late. But this store on Fullerton is also a little shady. For instance, the “Pick 2” menu in the store is heavily promoted through in-store signage. But it isn’t the half soup/half sandwich option you think. In fact, as the Panera manager later explained, it’s just a combination of entrees, with no discount at all. Isn’t that just called ordering from the menu?

When ordering, I had told the cashier I wanted a half sandwich/half soup “Pick 2.” She made no attempt to clarify several key issues. Like the specific sandwich I ordered did not come in a half portion. Or ask if I wanted a cup or bowl of soup? Clearly, I made some bad assumptions; however, the Panera menu is not designed to help you understand. And the staff is not trained well enough, or care enough, to explain.

After paying, I realized just how much my soup and sandwich cost. I went back to the cashier, but she couldn’t really explain. I politely asked to speak with a manager. He (Victor) agreed the published menu could be confusing but said that “all comes from corporate.” He made no real attempt to resolve my concerns, such as perhaps letting me place a new order (the food had not been prepared yet.)

Now on to the actual food: I’m not expecting gourmet at Panera, but certainly something better than this. The french onion soup seemed to have a tomato base and it came with no melted cheese on top. Isn’t that one of the basic components of french onion soup? The buffalo chicken sandwich was spicy but not flavorful. I could get a better one across the street at Popeye’s for half the price.

Definitely won’t be back to this or any Panera for...