When I lived in Wisconsin, there was a Panera Bread in the mall, a little too close to where I worked. By that I mean that it was too easy for me to go get some bagels or whatever, which was not good for either the pocketbook or the waistline.
For those of you unfamiliar with Panera, they are essentially a bakery and cafe. They make a wide variety of specialty breads, including things like Onion and Rosemary Focacia bread, Asiago cheese bagels, etc, that comes in all shapes and sizes. They also have excellent coffee, and serve sandwiches made with their delicious bread, along with a variety of soups, salads, pastries, cookies, etc.
To top it all off, they are using free Wi-Fi in all their new stores, and are working on adding it to older stores.
The reason I mention this is because there are no Panera Bread locations in Tucson, which is a great loss. The bagels that Panera turns out are the best I have ever tasted. In fact, I avoid most other bagels because I cannot find any in Tucson that measure up (even though we have Einstein and Breugers all over).
Well, today when I was going for lunch, I drove in a loop around the mall to see if there were any restaurants I hadn’t noticed yet, and I saw Panera. So of course I ate lunch there, and now I am enjoying their coffee while partaking in their free Wi-Fi, as opposed to doing the same thing at Barnes and Noble or Starbucks and having to pay for the Wi-Fi. And, interestingly enough, I think that Panera’s coffee is at least as good as Starbucks’.
So if you have a Panera near you, don’t miss out on the opportunity.
Panera is one my favorite stops. There are 3 in our area--at least! One near our house; one near Cassie’s house; and one at the mall. There’s probably another one somewhere that I haven’t discovered yet.<br><br>The sandwiches and salads are to die for.
Ha Ha, sucka! We’re getting a Panera in Ft Collins! And there’s always one at Cherry Creek, though you have to pay to park anywhere near it. Yep, the KingofPop is stylin’. Free WiFi can be great, especially if you get a table with a complimentary power outlet. The downer is when the bouncer throws you out for not actually buying anything.<br><br>For the record, the sun-dried tomato bagel with sun-dried tomato cream cheese is totally awesome. And for lunch, one must partake of the French Onion soup and the portobello sandwich. MMMMMMM. The KingofPop’s stomach (know as GurglePop Jr.) is happy.
On a related note, Bear Creek Cafe seems to be a lot like Panera, also with free WiFi, so check that out if no Panera can be had.<br><br>Also, don’t open Panera’s box.
Hey Matt! Are you missing a business opportunity? Maybe Arizona needs a Panera.
