Panera Bread – Okemos

26 10 2009
  • 4738 Central Park Drive
  • Okemos, MI 48864
  • (517) 349-4425
  • Website
  • Menu

You’ll hear me say this a lot.  I’m not a breakfast person.  I don’t normally get out of bed earlier enough to eat breakfast.  It’s one of the nice things about being a freelancer.  I don’t work everyday.  That’s also one of the bad things about it. 

Anyway, in East Lansing.  This time, very early in the morning.  Work started at 6 AM on Sunday.  Fortunately, I still had keys to my Lansing apartment, so I was not making the drive at four in the morning.  That will happen a few times this fall/winter. 

Our lunch break came around nine o’clock.  Typically, I just go to McDonald’s for breakfast.  I like the bacon, egg, and sausage biscuit.  Add that to the fact that it’s cheap and quick.  When J could meet me, we’d actually go to a good, sit down place, but now that J’s in Kalamazoo, I’m on my own and there’s not a lot of quick breakfast choices.  There just aren’t many places that do a good breakfast sandwich. 

So, I’m heading down Grand River towards my usual McDonald’s stop when I hear a commercial for Panera Bread’s breakfast.  It sounds really good plus it will be something a little different.  Since I’m already on Grand River I keep going to the Panera in Okemos.

The Okemos Panera Bread is on Central Park Drive in a small strip mall on the corner with Grand River Avenue.  On a Sunday morning, it was the only place open, yet there were a lot of cars in the parking lot.  Seems like I wasn’t the only one that had this idea. Read the rest of this entry »

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Categories : breakfast, Chains, Michigan, Okemos, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Panera Bread – Frandor

3 06 2009
  • 310 N. Clippert St.
  • Lansing, MI 48912
  • (517) 332-9183
  • Website
  • Menu
Panera Bread in the Frandor Shopping Center.

Panera Bread in the Frandor Shopping Center.

I know.  I know.  Another chain.  J and I had made plans earlier in the week to only eat out once.  Tomorrow.  Something came up and J wanted to run to Frandor. Neither of us had eaten lunch yet and we wouldn’t get back home in time to eat before she had to be at work, so we just ate while we were out.

J has always been a big fan of Panera Bread.  Me, not so much.  When we lived in Peoria, J worked long hours on Saturday and would usually stop at a Panera for at least one meal.  Before we started dating, she almost lived there. 

The Panera Bread in Frandor has a physical address on North Clippert, but it’s actually on the interior of the shopping center.  It sits on a corner connected to the  same building that houses Kroger.  It’s much smaller than most of the other Panera’s I’ve been in.  From the beginning, I felt a little crowded.  Usually, Panera has separate areas for the cafe and bakery.  I didn’t see that here. 

When you walk in, the order counter is right in front of you.  The bakery section is off to the right side of the counter.  There were four cash registers, but only two open.  We waited for the next available cashier, but that wasn’t good enough for a lady who walked up after us.  She wanted us to pick a line in hopes we would pick the longer line so she didn’t have to wait as long to get her coffee. Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bakery, Chains, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches

Press Release – New Coffee Line at Panera Bread

22 01 2009

I’ve been told all three Lansing area Panera Bread will be participating in this and the funds they raise will go to the Mid-Michigan Chapter of the American Red Cross…..

Panera Bread® to Celebrate Breakfast
With Free Cups of its New Coffee and Samples of New Products
Panera Bread to Support Local Communities by Raising Funds for Operation Dough-Nation® Recipients

Richmond Heights, MO, January 22, 2009 – Something big is brewing at Panera Bread and everyone’s invited. On Wednesday, January 28, Panera Bread bakery-cafes throughout the country are inviting customers to celebrate Panera’s new breakfast experience by sharing free cups of its new Light and Dark Roast coffees, as well as samples of its three grilled breakfast sandwiches and new Strawberry Granola Parfait.

To Share the Warmth with the local community, Panera Bread will also be inviting customers to donate a dollar on January 28 to help support its Operation Dough-Nation Community BreadboxTM program. Participating bakery-cafes will join the celebration by matching customer donations made on that day. Donations to Panera’s Community Breadboxes support local programs that address community needs. Through its Operation Dough-Nation effort, Panera Bread bakery-cafes collectively donated a retail value of more than $40 million worth of bread and baked goods in 2007 to charitable organizations helping to address the need for food distribution in its local communities.
“We are very proud of what we have achieved at breakfast at Panera,” said Ronald Shaich, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Panera Bread. “We’re looking forward to celebrating breakfast with our customers and joining them in supporting our local communities.”

Panera Bread has been working for more than two years to perfect its two unique new coffee blends — a Light Roast and a Dark Roast. The Light Roast Coffee is a new blend of some of the finest South and Central American beans, roasted lighter for a smooth, classic taste. The Dark Roast Coffee is a new blend of top Costa Rican beans, created for customers who prefer a robust, balanced, full-bodied coffee. All Panera Bread bakery-cafes will continue to carry its current Hazelnut and Decaffeinated coffee blends, as well as a selection of specialty Espresso and Espresso-based drinks expertly prepared by trained baristas.
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Panera Bread – Lansing Mall

21 08 2008
  • 5300 W. Saginaw Hwy
  • Lansing, MI 48917
  • (517) 703-9340
  • Website
  • Menu
Panera Bread located inside the Lansing Mall on Saginaw Highway in Lansing

Panera Bread located inside the Lansing Mall on Saginaw Highway in Lansing

I used to be scared of Panera Bread.  I always assumed there is nothing there I would like because they didn’t make greasy hamburgers and fries.  My girlfriend finally got me there one day while we were doing some extended work in Decatur, IL.  We had exhausted all of the downtown restaurant options and another lady we were working with had mentioned she was going to Panera Bread.  I decided not to argue and went along for the ride.  To my surprise, I actually found quite a bit there that sounded and looked good.  Panera has always been a standby for J.  She eats there pretty much every time she has to work in Kalamazoo or anytime she has to find someplace to eat and I’m not with her.

Today, we needed to run to Horrocks before heading back to Illinois for the weekend.  J just wanted a salad for lunch and asked if there was a Panera close.  The only one I could think of was the one at the Lansing Mall so after we grabbed what we needed from Horrocks, we headed down Saginaw Highway to the mall.  Read the rest of this entry »


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Categories : Bakery, Cafe, Chains, Lansing, Michigan, Restaurant, Reviews, Sandwiches