St. Clairsville, OH

I had the opportunity to dine at this Panera, on a recent trip to Pittsburgh. Along for the ride was my friend, Amy. I don't think she realized that a pit stop at Panera was in the agenda, but I was driving, so we made the stop.

Time of day: 2 ish
Location: In front of the St. Clairsville Mall
Menu items ordered:
Me: French onion soup, unsweet iced tea
Amy: Mocha
Restroom ranking: (A), very clean despite the heavy traffic.

This Panera was very busy for a typical off-peak time of 2pm. I would assert this to the fact that it is the holiday week and this is right in front of the mall, and directly off of I-70. The building is a free-standing unit, and looks like it was newly constructed in the last couple of years.

Regarding the layout, there seemed to be too many tables in the middle of the dining room. So it was a tad too cluttered for my liking. They did not have a community room.

I had already had lunch, so no pick two for me. Instead I had a cup of french onion soup, which came with a baguette. The soup was quite appetizing and the baguette was an added bonus. I was told that the Mocha was good, but a little pricey at around $3.60.

Au Bon Pain...Say what?

So I did do some googling of Panera Bread. As you notice from my previous post, I took a quick glance at their stock performance. Another fun fact that was discovered in this googling: They used to be Au Bon Pain.

I had no idea about this connection until today. I am intrigued by this fact, nonetheless. I recall many trips to the Columbus City Center and frequenting the Au Bon Pain. I was a big fan back then...and clearly I am still a big fan.

More details:
Panera Bread was founded in 1981 and operated under the name "Au Bon Pain". The name was changed to "Panera Bread" in August 1998. As of December 2009, there were 585 company owned stores and 795 franchise stores.

To invest, or not to invest? That is the question...

Interesting fact I discovered about Panera today. It appears from my research that their stock price is the highest it has been in the history of it's existence! As of today, the stock price is just over $104/share! I am by far, not a financial analyst, but I would say now is not the time to buy this stock...or is it? (PNRA)

It appears that they have been on a steady incline since July 2010, going from $78/share to over $104/share today!! I wish I would have invested in January 2000, where shares were going for just over $3!!

Woulda...coulda....shoulda.

The question remains...is it time to invest? How much further can they go up, before they go down again.

More research is needed...and many more Panera Breads need to be visited.

The "MY PANERA" card

This card is similar to the shopper cards you get at grocery stores and gas stations. The more you frequent the establishment, the more rewards/discounts you receive. If you are ok with these companies tracking your shopping patterns in exchange for a discount here and there...then you too, will find value in these cards.

I opted to get the "My Panera" card when I was first asked about it, probably 2-3 months ago. So far I have earned enough rewards for a free danish...which I took advantage of one morning.

Happy birthday to me....and thank you Panera! I just had a birthday, and to my surprise, I received an email from Panera wishing me a happy birthday. Turns out there is a bday gift waiting for me on my card. So the next time I visit Panera I will be able to see what that gift is.

Stay tuned for the big reveal...

New Albany (N. Hamilton Rd)...aka Home Base

This write up is dedicated to the Panera that I frequent the most. I refer to this one as my home base. Instead of describing one particular experience at this Panera, I will describe my overall rating of this one. I have lived near this Panera for the past 2.5 years, and I can't tell you how many times I have been here. I would say that a conservative estimate would be at least 1 time per month over those 2.5 years...so, 30 visits? hmm...at roughly $10/visit, I have spent over $300? But I digress....

Even though this Panera is considered my home base, I would have to say that it is not my favorite based solely on the layout. As I have mentioned before, for whatever reason, I like the Panera's with a community room. This one does not have that feature.

Service:
I have never had any real problems with the service or the staff. I have found them to be very good.

Food:
9 times out of 10 I stick with the same pick 2...so it is really difficult to mess that one up.

Restrooms:
Typically they are fine. Nothing more, nothing less.

Dining experience:
This is the Panera that I will frequent a lot with just myself and my laptop. It is not usually overcrowded so I typically am able to find a corner somewhere that I am not bothering someone and work away. (I also tend to go at the non-peak hours)
Because I am usually on my laptop at this location, I notice that there could be more outlets. There are really only 2 ideal locations for the single laptop user. My personal fave, and the one that is usually not available is located next to the restrooms. Second fave is located near the self-serve drinks and the secondary exit.

Random thoughts....
It seems that they are always running out of regular butter. One such illustration of this event took place a week ago. I ordered a greek salad, french onion soup, and a wheat baguette to go. I went to grab a couple of butters and there were none to be found. Not a big deal. So I just asked one of the workers for butter, who then disappeared to find this fabled butter. By this time, another customer behind me was on the same quest to find butter. I assured the lady that they were about the re-stock the butter. To both of our surprises, the worker appears with a handful of butter packets. I grab one packet and then he disappeared to the back with the butter. The other customer and I looked at eachother in disbelief. I guess butter is a hot commodity around here, was our comment to each other.

Despite the layout and that one incident with the butter, I enjoy this Panera. Otherwise I would not frequent this Panera as often as I do.

Westerville: N. State St

Date visited: Saturday, December 18
Time: 12:30
Items ordered:

• Pick 2
• 1/2 greek salad
• 1/2 sierra turkey, on whole wheat bread
• whole wheat baguette
• ice water w/lemon

Those in attendance: just me
Comments:
This Panera is located as an end unit of a large shopping plaza, with other tenants such as Giant Eagle, a sushi restaurant, a bar, and several other businesses. This part of Westerville is located near the Hoover Reservoir. Most of the buildings in this area are newer.
I liked the atmosphere at this Panera. The layout was unique in that there were several pockets of seating. I chose to sit at a table in front of the window.
I have never used the "community room" at a Panera, but this location did offer one. For some completely irrational reason, I like Paneras that have the community room. Again, no reason as to why.
My only complaint in regards to the food, was the lettuce did not seem as fresh as it usually is. The staff was very friendly. I have the "my Panera" card, and in my experience, the staff is not very trained on asking you if you have the card before you pay. It is usually an after thought. The cashier that I had on Saturday, however, asked me right after I placed the order.
Bathrooms were not the greatest. After my meal, I was going to use the facility, but opted not to after a quick look in the bathroom. This was probably out of the staffs control, but the toilet was stuffed full of toilet paper...for all I know, this could have happened just before I went into the bathroom.
Overall I enjoyed this Panera. The layout was very pleasing, and the location is in a nice area of town. I did not have a friend to dine with, and I did not have any work to do, so I did not bring my laptop. I do think this location would be a good place to camp out for a couple of hours and get some work done. Again, the layout allows for this.

The list...

According to their website here is the list of Columbus area Paneras:

1. Bexley: E. Broad
2. Blacklick: E. Broad
3. Clintonville
4. Dublin: Perimeter Loop
5. Dublin: Martin Rd
6. Easton
7. Grandview
8. Lancaster
9. Lewis Center
10. Mill Run
11. New Albany
12. Bethel Rd.
13. OSU Campus
14. Polaris
15. Reynoldsburg: Taylor Station
16. Dublin: Tuttle Mall
17. Westerville North
18. Westerville South
19. Upper Arlington

Because I live the closest to the New Albany Panera, I consider it my "home base".

Why am I doing this?

I might have a miniature obsession with Panera Bread. My friends will tell you that it is true, I do enjoy my Panera Bread more than the average person. They will also tell you that it really does not make sense that Panera is always my restaurant of choice.

You see, I am a pretty frugal person, and Panera is not a cheap meal...especially considering what you get for your money. A typical lunch at Panera runs close to $10.

This brings me to my first experiences with Panera. I was a college sophomore at UD. A newly built Panera was just a short-walk from my apartment. I had been to Panera beforehand, but I never had this much access to it. Shortly after it was built many of my friends liked to frequent Panera to help nurse a hangover. Reluctantly, I joined my friends on these outings. I was admittedly, disappointed on each of these occassions...so much so that I stopped going. As a poor college student, $10 for a hangover meal was far out of my budget. Not to mention the fact that it was my contention that the key ingredient of hangover food should be grease...french fries, burgers, etc. Clearly Panera did not meet any of the tough requirements.

That was in the year 2000. Fast forward to today. A lot has happened in 10 years. One of the biggest changes is Wifi. Sure, they probably offered Wifi back then...but I did not have a laptop, and I probably didnt understand what Wifi was. Another change in the last 10 years...my hangovers. While I would like to say I have grown up and hangovers are a rarity...let's just say I still have hangovers, but for some reason the classic greasy meal isn't as appetizing or as settling on the stomach as the fresh ingredients from Panera.

Panera can be enjoyed with a group of friends, with just one or two friends, and even by yourself. I can be found at many central Ohio Paneras working on my laptop...and sometimes you will see me dragging along a friend or two to join me. Either way I enjoy the atmosphere and the energy that Panera offers. From the background music to the people watching...Panera is a great place to dine.

I recently visited my sister in Cleveland, and had the opportunity to go a Cleveland area Panera. It sounds weird, and perhaps creepy...but as I was sitting at that Panera I couldn't help but think, "Wow, if I had to rank my favorite Paneras, this would be at the very top of the list"....and so you have it. I have decided to visit as many Panera Breads possible and rank them.

In an effort to complete this goal, I am starting with visiting all of the Columbus area Panera's. I have already been to several of the 19 locations throughout the years. But I am going to make a fresh start and re-visit even the ones I have already been to.

I will rank them based on my personal opinion, and my own likes/dislikes. As further background information....my favorite menu item is the Pick 2. I enjoy half of the sierra turkey on whole wheat (I dont like the default bread) and the other half is a greek salad, no olives. I also typically opt for a whole-wheat baguette as my other side. Drink of choice is an unsweet tea. And...even stranger...I will order this at anytime of the day...even for breakfast. I am not a big sweets person, so I can't fairly rank the bakery side of the restaurant.

Thank you for reading about my journey....