Sashaying through Powell!

I've lost count. I think this Panera review puts it right around 33ish total? The Powell, OH Panera opened a few months ago. I had good intentions to visit during opening week. That never happened. So I was rather excited when my good friends Abby and David suggesting meeting there for dinner yesterday. Not shockingly, David backed out of this visit, due to his busy volleyball schedule. Thankfully, Abby was still willing to dine with me in Powell!

The Review:
Located just north of Columbus, Powell is home to beautiful homes, overpriced SUVs, and soccer moms. It is the quintessential suburb. The new, free-standing Panera can be found just off Sawmill Parkway among many other brand new buildings. It receives bonus points because they have a drive-thru.

I arrived just a few minutes before Abby. Because it was just a pleasant evening, I decided to wait for Abby at the rather inviting patio area. After walking into the restaurant, we both commented that it was a bit small. Maybe it's not small, perhaps it's just the layout. I'll compromise and call this one quaint.

Items Ordered:
Me: Chopped Chicken Cobb Salad, whole grain baguette. Half acai tea, half regular unsweet tea.
Abby: Strawberry poppyseed salad, sans the chicken. Whole grain baguette. Diet soda.

Random NOTES:

Table tracker. Not working as planned.

• They have the new table tracker service at this Panera. The goal with the table tracker is to place the tracker on the table of your choice. Ideally when your order is ready, a Panera associate delivers your meal to you. We waited. And waited. And waited some more. They never delivered. Perhaps because we were outside? I was hungry, so I caved in and picked up our meals. 

• Abby claims the pop was super fuzzy. I did notice that it took her excessively long to get a drink. Was it user error? 

• Sashay. I love to use this word to describe someone's walk. We witnessed a girl sashaying through the parking lot. She also happened to be dressed rather out-of-place for a Panera at 6:30 on a Tuesday. Abby suggested I take a picture. I obided but said I felt creepy. One minute later an unknown observer passed by and asked us if we "picked up some style tips". Caught. I'm not posting the pic, because I feel like a mean girl and creep. Blame it on my Catholic guilt. 
• MY PANERA rewards. I have earned $2 off a pick 2! Last month I earned a free signature sandwich. Maybe I eat here too often?

Next up? The Shoppes at Worthington. I noticed that a new Panera is going in. Looks like it will be a good one. Stay tuned.

The new Worthington location under construction.

Panera saves the day!

Unless you live under a rock, you heard about the devastating storm that took place across the country this past weekend. Central Ohio was one of the hardest hit. I personally lost power at my place from Friday evening through Tuesday afternoon. My facts are probably incorrect, but I heard that there was over 500,000 without power in the Central Ohio region. Many still are without power.

The storm hit rather unexpectedly. I was getting ready for a fun evening out with friends and family to watch my favorite local band (Conspiracy Band). As I was searching for the perfect outfit to wear, the sky turned ominous, winds started picking up, and soon the power went out. I grabbed my dog Boomer and we sought shelter in an interior room. I thought a tornado was imminent.  Thanks to my lack of planning for severe weather, I had no way to confirm my suspicions.

Boomer during the storm. Note the Yuengling Light bottles on the table.

Eventually the storm passed. I was left without power, so naturally, I decided to meet everyone as planned and drink/dance my worries away. The band was amazing, as usual. I arrived back at my place several hours later, still without power. As luck would have it, I had zero trouble falling asleep that night. I awoke around 8:30 the next morning to my friend/neighbor (Amy) calling me to discuss the power outage.

We decided to walk around the neighborhood to assess the situation. Needless to say, it was a mess. Trees and power lines were down everywhere. Considering the facts that: A) Amy is 8 + months pregnant B) Amy was pushing her 1 year old son, and C) I was walking my dog...it probably wasn't the safest decision to stroll around the neighborhood. But no one ever claimed we were the smartest.

It was going to be another hot day and our power coming on seemed like a long shot. The next logical step was to pick up some Panera and eat it poolside.

I volunteered to pick up the Panera to-go. It was probably 10AM at this point. As I pulled into the Bethel Road Panera, my jaw dropped. The parking lot was packed and people were literally standing in line outside of the store to get in! Wow.

The parking lot was packed. Also the only photo I took. Big mistake. Huge.

Surprisingly the line moved relatively quickly. As to be expected, the line was filled with chatter about the storm and every one's experiences. Lots of talk about the most recent AEP report that power would not be restored for 5-7 days.

Everyone that day found themselves in an unexpected and uncomfortable predicament. The employees at Panera certainly had no idea what they would be facing on that Saturday morning. Certainly that had to have been the BUSIEST Saturday ever for that particular Panera. I commend the Bethel Road Panera for staying cool in a time of panic. I guess they really followed their corporate slogan: "Make today better"

ITEMS ORDERED:
Me: Chicken Salad Sandwich, Chips, Large Unsweet Tea/Acai Tea mix. Yum.
Amy: Sierra Turkey and chips

Random NOTES:

• Generators. I'm buying one. And not just a little one. I am getting a good one. Well not anytime soon. But I probably should.
• Radio. I'm buying an emergency radio. That will happen soon.
• Pool. Who decides to go to the pool after a hurricane like storm hits? Answer: Idiots. For whatever reason going to the pool sounded like a good decision. We brought the Panera back to the pool, only to discover the entire pool and kiddie pool was filled with debris and elements from the storm. Duh.

Example of the devastation. This was a billboard.