Saint Louis Bread Co.

Wow came in for a bowl of soup 745 everything is practically gone. Got my soup and a dirty spoon. No bread… there out. Had to ask for a clean spoon .t I’ll d I would have to have plastic. Couldn’t get a refill on tea at 8pm. The guy had already thrown it out. I was not the only person in bread co. Very unfriendly. Won’t be back.

One of my favorites; always a classic. Broccoli cheddar soup in a bread bowl, Sierra turkey sandwich, and the bagels are amazing.

Your typical bread company, this one has a weird parking lot (straubs claims the parking spaces directly in front of this location), but there is always parking within walking distance.
The inside had two distinct areas — one for more work and coffee, the other for truly sitting down and eating — hello booths
The staff here seems friendly, with one notable exception (an elderly woman who tends to give me a hard time depending on what I order)
The food is obviously the same as other bread co/​paneras. I tend to always get the same thing though: pick two with the Bacon turkey bravo minus Gouda and tomato and turkey chili (now that they have that)
Both are quite wonderful.

Panera Bread Co, what would we do without you? We love your wonderful sandwiches and soups and creative dishes. Quick and healthy-​er. And since everyone loves you, you tend to be full, especially around lunch time. I come here often to work in the afternoon while the kid practices with her orchestra. Two things I do not like about Bread Co, 1. sometimes I just want quiet. It’s not that I don’t like kids, I have four of my own, but having other kids that are noisy by nature (they’re kids for goodness sake) easily distracts someone who is already easily distracted and doesn’t need the extra help! That said, most kids at Bread Co are relatively well behaved. 2. I have yet to find a Bread Co that has enough outlets for our ever burgeoning digital world of devices.
Ok, generally the service is very good, friendly and prompt. As an example, this time they didn’t have Smoothie I wanted so they made a kale super smoothie instead. And was told that if I didn’t like it they’d make another for me. Good service. Good food. That’s why people keep coming back.

You know what to expect at Panera, no surprises — good food, decent price. In this particular location it’s always very busy around noon and I had to wait about 10 min for my food as I usually wait less then 5 at any other location I’ve been to. I understand it’s lunch time and it’s probably their busy time but I think they need to plan a little better. Hire extra help if necessary. Overall good experience but definitely not the best.

I would like to add — without reflecting on this Panera as a whole — there’s one person who works here who’s usually a bit crabby to the customers.
Good old Joe, who complained when I put in a big bagel order like it was inconveniencing him, even though you’d think a big order would be a GOOD thing.
And who argued with me when I noticed the «skim milk» was way too white (and too tasty) to actually be skim. I’ve been pouring the skim milk in this Panera for ten years, and I know what it looks like, but Joe had to disagree and tell me their skim was really white. Uh huh. It was 2%, but Joe won the argument anyway because he’s the guy with the Panera nametag.
Just avoid Joe and you will enjoy the customer experience a little bit more.

This is our new place to eat. we didn’t have these where we are from (no, not mars). Tasty, reasonable value, fast… what else do you want? The menu is big enough that you don’t get bored. The kids love their PB&Js and mommy loves the bread. Good, consistent food.

This Bread Co isn’t the biggest or fanciest one in town, but it gets the job done. The ladies know me and my order, and are always so friendly. Bread Cos are always consistent. My fave is the fuji apple chicken salad, minus the chicken — YUM! I also like the mac n’ cheese. I wish they had another veggie sandwich here, because I don’t care for the one they have. They used to have one I liked, but now they don’t. It’s ok though because I love their salads and they are healthier.
And can I say BAGELS? I love their asiago, toasted with cream cheese. YUM!
Their drinks are good as well — I like the mochas (and I’m not a coffee drinker), chai, and smoothies.
I love their rewards program — it’s fun getting random rewards and being able to cash them in. I wish they had different rewards more. I’ve only gotten bagels, baked goods and drinks (no sandwiches, etc)
The downside is that parking is a small alley way or the street — don’t even think about parking in Straub’s lot unless you go in there to buy something (which I sometimes do if I don’t feel like parallel parking!). They will cut you if you do! No really, once I got a note on my car when I parked around the side when I didn’t go in. So just don’t do it.

The service at this location is pathetic. It’s in my neighborhood so I go there, but as little as possible. They specialize in getting orders wrong. Order more than one thing and you can count on it. Obviously, they hire bad help. If you must go there, check every part of the order. One mistake is almost certain. But don’t be surprised if they make more than one error in the same order.
On a recent trip, they failed to include two strawberry lemonades in the order. I got home, realized the oversight, and went back. The lemonades were there, but they rather brusquely said to me that «the drinks are always served at this end of the counter.» As if I was supposed to know that. To top things off, the lemonades weren’t the strawberry variety. Apparently, the girl who took my order got that wrong. So, I had to wait there while they redid the whole thing.
It’s dismally bad for bring overpriced and selling a second rate product. As you may know if you are in St. Louis, the chain is known there as St. Louis Bread Company. They try to be innovative but the food is really nothing special. Soups are too salty, salads mediocre, and their hot sandwiches, an alleged specialty, come out of the wrapper looking like they’ve been run over by a pick up truck.

To the people outside of St. Louis, this place is called Panera. But to us in the STL, we affectionately call this chain «Bread Co» and indicate which location we’re referring to. For instance, I used to live right near the Bread Co in Brentwood (by the FedEx/Kinko’s). You see, before this chain became a chain, it was just St. Louis Bread Company. And we just refuse to call it «Panera».
A few weeks ago, I spent an afternoon at the Webster Groves Bread Co. I had already eaten lunch and don’t drink coffee, so I had to find something to buy to justify my time here. It was a cold, snowy day so hot chocolate seemed appropriate. And I tell you what, Bread Co does a pretty mean hot chocolate.
Hot chocolate here comes in a giant mug and topped off not only with whipped cream, but chocolate syrup drizzles. Probably not the healthiest choice on the menu, but who cares? Not only did it warm my feet, but it surely kept me awake for the four hours I spent there on the leather chair in the corner.
No one bothered me to ask if I needed anything or tried to kick me out, so props for leaving a busy girl alone! My only complaint about this particular store is that it gets crowded with teenagers after 2:30 pm. I guess this is *the* meeting spot for all of the Webster Groves high school kids. A few of them got kicked out for misbehaving, but it was just typical high school kid stuff.
If you find yourself stuck in Webster for a few hours, needing to get some work done, definitely stop by this Bread Co. They’ll treat you right!