363 days later...my final Cbus review: Grove City

Standard exterior shot.

It took me nearly 365 days, but I accomplished my goal. I have visited and reviewed every single Panera Bread in the Columbus area...all 22 of 'em! In addition I have even visited/reviewed 10 other outer market Panera Bread's throughout Ohio and the nation.

I finished this goal on Friday morning, where I reviewed the newly built Grove City Panera.

THE REVIEW:
Date visited: Friday, December 16
Time of Day: 11am ish
Items ordered: Med veg, chips, and unsweet tea

Old faithful. The med veg. Delightful.

It's no secret, I went out of my way to visit Grove City. I had an appointment in Columbus on Friday, and decided to head to Grove City to review the new Panera. My appointment was in the Easton area...and then I drove to Grove Tucky...not convenient, but well worth the effort.

Being unfamiliar with Grove City, I had to pull up directions to this Panera on my iPhone. Suprisingly, I could not spot this Panera immediately. I made the assumption that since this was brand new, it would be a free-standing Panera with a drive-thru. I was shocked to see that it was neither free-standing nor did it have a drive-thru. Rather, it was stuck in the middle of a small strip center. That's pretty unusual for the a new Panera.

I pulled up to the restaurant and had many pre-conceived notions. I assumed it was going to be your average run of the mill boring Panera. In fact, I kind of assumed it would be the same look and feel as the new Hilliard store. I was wrong.

Standard interior shot.

If you are ever in the Grove City area, visit this Panera. The decor is warm and inviting, yet the actual restaurant is fairly large. Some of the newer Panera's like the Hilliard location, are just not as cozy. It's difficult to explain, probably just a personal preference. I did notice that the GC Panera had a purple color palate. Apparently that color is settling to me.

Note the purple walls.

Random NOTES:

• Saluting the Troops: Panera Bread is giving away Pick 2's to current military personnel and vets on 12/21 and 12/22! Spread the word!

• Staying Hungry. Staying Foolish...I impulse bought a MacBook after my Panera trip. I actually have been contemplating this move for 2 years now. I saw there was a Best Buy near the Panera and pulled the trigger. Still blogging on my PC, however.
• Waiting area. Have you ever been standing around waiting for your food at Panera to be called up. There really is no good place to mill around. This was brilliantly addressed at this GC location. They have a bench near the waiting area for that purpose. Genius!

Waitin' bench.

• I am not sure how new this location is, but they were very eager to help. That's usually a sign that the place is brand new. They had one girl going around essentially busing the tables. It was nice, yet very unexpected.
• Covelli is the franchisee of the Columbus Panera's. They also own O'Charleys. There is an O'Charleys about a block away from this Panera. Does anyone like O'Charley's? I can't say I have ever said, "Hey, lets go to O'Charley's." I have been to a few in my day, but the decision to go there is typically based on convenience and/or lack of other options.

"Italian Combos" & Drive-Thrus at the Hilliard Panera

My final Columbus review, Hilliard...or so I thought! I was pretty pumped on my drive to Hilliard on Sunday afternoon. Throughout this past year, I have diligently crossed off the Panera Bread locations on my list. To my knowledge, Blacklick was the last on my list from the original Cbus area Paneras. I knew there were 2 new Paneras opened in the Cbus area this past year (Lane Ave & Hilliard)...but I had no idea that a secret 3rd location had opened! Coming soon: Grove City Panera review!

The official list used to mark of
my Panera visits...

Focusing on the task at hand, however...here's my Hilliard Panera experience:

The Review:
Date visited: Sunday, November 27
Time of day: 5ish
Items ordered: You pick 2 (half italian combo sandwich on whole grain + greek salad no olives), a whole grain baguette, and an unsweet tea.

That's a nice looking "Italian Combo"...

This Panera is located off of Hilliard-Rome Road, very close to the I-70 exit. Hilliard-Rome Road is super busy. Tons of retail shopping, restaurants, etc. I can see why Panera strategically placed this Panera close to the I-70 on-ramps, next to a Meijer and across the street from a Wal-Mart.
It's a new Panera...it's not a free-stander, but it has a drive-thru! My fav! This location shares a building with Five-Guys, and something else...can't recall. Maybe an ATT store?

I arrived with my laptop on a rainy Sunday afternoon. As always, I was happy to see a drive-thru, and hope that drive-thru's become more of a rule rather than the exception.
The LAYOUT: Very unique. A Dispatch article talks about how it is a prototype for future Panera's to mimic. Walking in the front entrance, there is open seating to your immediate left and more of a closed-off section to your right, featuring the main dining area. Straight ahead...the cashier.

Whatcha see when you walk in...
notice the fancy LED menu boards.

I found a nice booth, with an outlet, close to the bathroom.
RANDOM notes:

• The Italian Combo sandwich. RANDOM! I know. A completely new item ordered, only because I wanted to try this out for my readers. It just doesn't seem fair for me to keep ordering the SAME thing. 3 words sum up this sandwich: Meaty, filling, salty. I opted to not get it on the ciabatta bread. I think Ciabatta bread is too hard. Would I order it again? Doubtful. Should you? Only if you are looking for something meaty, filling, and salty. Sounds like Snooki's taste in men. Actually, an "Italian Combo" sounds like a term that the Jersey Shore crew would embrace for a number of innuendos.

Snooki's "Italian Combo"

• More bread DRAMA. At the Blacklick location, I ordered a Med Veg, which comes on tomato basil. Well, they put it on whole-grain. Fair enough. I got over it. Less than a week later, at this visit, they put my "Italian Combo" on Ciabatta, despite the fact that I ordered it on whole-grain. I don't like to be a diva, but I had them change the order this time.
• Grove City. Apparently I have to drive down there for a review. I had no idea Panera opened down there. I will be sure to fit this in before year's end.
• Outlets are key at a Panera. There are numerous Panera laptop lurker's at any given Panera. We need our outlets. I was fooled at this location. The older layouts have the outlets underneath the tables on the wall. Apparently, the newly designed stores have them cleverly placed on the outside of the bench seat. The outlet covers also match the paint, so they blend in well. Indeed, clever. What will you think of next, Panera?
• Menu boards. This one has the new electronic message boards. Very attractive!
• I earned $2 off the PICK 2...just for having the MY PANERA card!
• Hilliard-Rome vs. Rome-Hilliard: How do you say it or spell it? Which comes first Hilliard or Rome?

View from my table...