George+Groussis

George Groussis Victoria Kingsley English 101 Panera Bread – The Everyday Oasis   Panera Bread. Not even a minute after stepping in, one can feel the comfort and joy that seems to radiate off of the employees as it shines down upon. The environment known as Panera Bread is a fast food chain/restaurant that started in Saint Louis, when Au Bon Pain bought out The Saint Louis Bread Company. From there, the company expanded on The Saint Louis Bread Company Idea of a Bakery/Café and added in more technology, and pumping money directly into the body of the 20 Cafes in which Saint Louis Bread had owned. From there, the company had a name change, and expanded outward to the many cities in the U.S.  When someone first opens the first set of doors, they enter a small room, with a carpet to wipe their feet. This is a room with 4 glass wall and Metal framing, so you can see not only outside, but all around you. The second set of doors lead to the dining room and front counter, where one can place an order and eat their meals. The Counter itself is on the left once someone enters the doors. There are many signs hanging, placed on walls, and advertising meals and deals. One Sign Advertises the The Lobster Sandwich, one of the most expensive things in the café. Another sign advertises The New Vermont Macaroni and White Cheddar Cheese. These signs are attempts to get customers to eat these said products. After talking to one of the employees at Panera, they said “Not even Employees get discounts on the Lobster Sandwich, it is a expensive product and the signs are one of the reasons we can sell so much.” The advertisements attractive design, as well as the product itself, which is shown and thought to be extremely flavorful, does a great job at selling a product that some might see as too expensive. Another thing that makes the Front counter Area visually appealing is the Bakery. The Bakery is an area behind a set of Registers in which all the delicious sweets and baked goods of Panera are held. These sweet baked goods are all placed behind a protective glass case, which allows for the product to be untouched by anyone other than an employ, who is trained to give out these products without the spread of virus. The foods themselves are staggered and spread out along the area in which they resided, atop of white and glass plates. The cookies are stacked in high columns, five columns of different cookie types on one tray. The brownies are placed horizontally, all in rows going down the plate next to each other. Strange and wonderful looking products also come along with all the other foods in which customers will often ask about, the Peacan Rolls, the Cobblestones, Bear Claws, and Pastry Ring, are just a few of these products. All of these products are placed on Display, with the purpose of getting people to eat without thinking. The human body reacts to what it sees, and at time, human will over purchase or over eat when seeing large amounts of food. This dates back to a primitive part of the human subconscious, as to when food was scarce and people did not know when the next meal would come. Because of that part of the human mind, people tend to eat more then they need to, as no human is sure when the next meal may come.  More Visual greatness also comes from the registry area, where customers can see most food being made, and is bombarded by different signs, deals and options. After asking another associate of Panera Bread, who happens to work in the registry area, it was said that, “With all these signs and information, we try and give a customer as many options as possible.” The function of so many options is to make a customer at Panera Bread feel as though they are not limited, and that they can order to their liking. Also, there are a couple of different deals and such that one can purchase for even more options and such. The most popular of which is the “You Pick 2”. This was created to make decisions much easier for fickle customers. The idea being that, a customer may order a combination of any two products, EXCEPT for two different soups, and order a half serving of each. With this deal in place, and that fact that it cost the same as most of the single products on the purchase board, it is a way to give customers even more options and food flavors to play with. Along with these great visual aspects, lies the aspect of taste. The food at any café in the world can look good, but taste is just as important. All the food in a Panera is quite delicious. One of the big sellers with the foods is Panini’s. The Tomato Mozzarella Panini for example, is a big seller itself. It brings very strong flavor, combining a tomato Pesto, Fresh sliced tomatoes, and sun dried/roasted tomatoes, alongside a mouth watering mozzarella cheese and basil combination. Biting into this makes one feel like they are biting into hot and melted pizza sandwich on Cabatta bread, with the basil adding that hint of flavor to make taste buds go wild. Another big seller amongst the lunch time foods is the Fugi Apple Chicken Salad. With it’s sweet Fugi Apple Dressing, the combination of tomatoes, and pecans, and the apple chips adorning the top of the salad itself, it is a visual and flavorful treat, that not only tastes good, but excites the eyes with it’s design. Even the simpler foods are made to the taste of those who order them. The Turkey Sandwich is a great example of this. With the massive amount of customizations options, as well as the high quality of products used, the flavor of something as simple as a Grill cheese sandwich is great. That, along with the “You Pick two” Option, and the flavor combinations are almost limitless. All of this great flavor choice, and options are vital to the function of a Panera, which is to produce food for a group of people, in a relaxed, none stress environment. When it comes to sounds, the store is crazed and filled with noise. The Machines and the cooking aids which the Panera bread Employees use often make some irritating noise, which can be heard from the dining room. Such things as the Buzzers that tell a customer his food is ready, a loud beep from the machine that makes the Panini’s or the constant beeps of the machine which tells employees when the Mac and Cheese is done, the noise is everywhere. If you move to the other half of the store, noise is still heard, but from different machines. The Piercing squelch of the espresso machine, the gentle thud of bread cut in the slicer, or the beeps of the oven in the back going off. Alongside all this, one can hear the constant chatter of people at their tables. Whether they discuss work, or house life, everyone seems very happy as they talk to one another. These noises are those of a very busy and active cafe. The lines in this place went out of the door one of the days that I showed up. The constant noise is often a mood destroyer at some places, however, Panera makes up for all these sounds by playing soft Jazz throughout the store, allowing some of the noise to be masked. That, along with the constant chatter of customers will at times drown out these noises. Also, most customers don’t often seem to notice the noises. They are often too busy chatting with someone via, there phone, or text, or just the person next to them, that they often don’t notice a buzz here, or a beep there. Often there are people working on their laptops, working on their homework, and doing work for their job. People very often are there just enjoying themselves, eating as a family, a couple, or by themselves. Panera Bread attracts people of all ages and types to sit back, relax, and smell the sough dough. The smell of soups such as Chicken Noodle, Creamy Tomato, and Clam Chowder waft past the nose as ones passes by the pick-up area for food. Fresh cooked breads and Baguette scratch at ones nose as well as one slowly moves toward the bakery area. At the Bakery area itself, the nose is assaulted by the many different flavor goods and delectable’s that would make the mouth water in anticipation. These foods and such are all placed in specific locations to attract more customer purchase. As customers usually make purchase orders near the Bakery, their noses are battered with these smells of cinnamon, or nutmeg. The smells are so potent, they can make the mouth water in anticipation of the meal. The Saying, “A hungry Person usually bites off more than he can chew.” would probably most likely apply here. The fact is that, due to the increase in that persons want for food, they will most likely purchase more food, in order to sate that want, regardless of whether or not they are that hungry at the time. With these smells placed across the area of purchase and pick up, a person is more likely to ask, “Where I actually get something else with this?” This of course helps with the function of that Panera, which is, to sell produce, and create a warm and comfortable environment for the customer.  Panera is, in the end, a great café establishment, that is beyond successful, dragging in hundreds of customers in one café, in a day. It functions not only as a café, but as a third place, in which people can work and relieve themselves in this, “Everyday Oasis.”. Panera’s foods and visual flavor make it a stand out eatery, which promises both filling and healthy food at a low cost, and with quick service. Its history, foods, both past and present, make it what it is today, and for many years to come, a successful public third place.