ST. LOUIS — Panera Bread, the St. Louis-based bakery-cafe chain, has opened a “Panera To Go” in Chicago, the first of three test stores it plans to open this year for the new pickup-or-delivery-only concept.
The restaurant, located at 5320 N. Broadway in Chicago's Edgewater neighborhood in a former Pizza Hut, opened May 13, according to a spokeswoman. The new "digital-only" concept offers no seating and has a smaller so-called "front of house" that will allow customers and delivery drivers to pick up orders from shelves reserved for Panera's Rapid Pick-Up and Delivery service. Ordering and payment for Panera To Go orders will be available only through Panera's website or app.
Panera To Go is intended to serve all parts of the day, including breakfast, officials said.
Panera plans to open two more Panera To Go cafes, in California and Washington, D.C., this year, according to a Friday press release. Officials said the company will also evaluate adding kiosk and catering orders to the new Panera to Go format in the future.
The Panera To Go format has a smaller footprint – 2,500 square feet versus 4,500 square feet for its traditional location – and is designed for densely populated areas that can't accommodate a dine-in bakery-cafe, officials said. The new format will allow Panera to offer off-premise service in new locations, such as crowded urban areas, where it hasn't historically operated.
“We strive to make it easy for our guests to access Panera’s chef-curated menu, in the most convenient way. Panera To Go creates yet another access point for our guests, via Rapid Pick-Up or Delivery, in locations where Panera has not historically operated,” said Eduardo Luz, Panera Bread's chief brand and concept officer, said in the press release. “We are excited to launch into more trade areas, where we know people are craving for what Panera offers — freshly prepared delicious dishes, crafted by our chefs and bakers, using clean ingredients.”
The company said that as of year-end 2021, 81% of Panera’s sales were through one of its off-premise channels including delivery, Rapid Pick-Up, drive-thru and catering. Panera has "continually innovated" in response to the growing demand for off-premise dining, officials said.
As of year-end 2021, 44% of Panera bakery-cafes included a drive-thru, officials said. In November, the company opened the first location of its "next-generation" full-service bakery-cafe design in Ballwin, featuring a double drive-thru, with a dedicated Rapid Pick-Up lane, and emphasizing the company's bakery offerings. The next-gen model is being rolled out nationwide.
Panera Bread said it also recently has been testing "ghost kitchens," or food preparation facilities that serve off-premise demand without in-person dining space, with five operating nationwide and plans to open more this year. Officials said The Panera To Go concept differs from ghost kitchens in that the new format offers a branded storefront where customers can quickly pick up digital orders on their own.
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