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Panera Launches Drive-Thru Pick-Up Nationwide

by Katie Lee

St. Louis — On May 31, Panera launched Drive-Thru Pick-Up nationwide, combining the ease of the digital ordering experience with the comfort and convenience of the drive-thru window. Guests can now choose the Drive-Thru Pick-Up option when ordering ahead on the Panera app or website. Panera bakery-cafes featuring Drive-Thru Pick-Up will still offer the traditional Drive-Thru experience with the ability to order at the Drive-Thru screen. With Drive-Thru Pick-Up, guests who order ahead can simply announce their name at the speaker and pull ahead to the window — which allows …

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Variety Show

by Katie Lee

— Interview with Eduardo Luz —   Panera puts on a show with several new design formats catering to the needs of an increasingly digital and off-premise guest.   If variety is the spice of life, the many evolving iterations of Panera these days is keeping its real estate and construction game pretty hot. Currently boasting more than 2,100 bakery-cafes (in 48 states and Ontario, Canada), Panera operates under the Panera Bread® or Saint Louis Bread Co.® names; roughly half of these cafes are company-owned. Never a brand to sit …

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Panera Opens First Digitally-Led New Bakery-Cafe Format in NYC

by Katie Lee

St. Louis — Panera Bread has opened the first of its new updated urban store format in New York, the newest of several new formats targeted at more densely populated and non-traditional trade areas. With digital sales at Panera now representing 50% of total system sales, Panera now offers a portfolio of store formats designed to cater to the needs of an increasingly digital and off-premise guest. “At Panera, our innovation has always been rooted in the guest and associate experience, how we can reduce friction, drive convenience and bring …

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MOD Pizza Promotes Chief Restaurant Officer and Hires First Chief Development Officer

by Katie Lee

Seattle — MOD Super Fast Pizza Holdings, LLC, a fast-casual pizza pioneer, has promoted Becky Mulligan to the newly-created position of chief restaurant officer and Stephen Blum as its first chief development officer. The company also has made three executive-level hires, with a focus on enhancing MOD’s strength in franchising, culinary innovation and operational excellence as it continues to expand its store footprint of more than 520 locations system-wide. Mulligan’s elevation to chief restaurant officer comes as she celebrates a year with the company during which she has led the …

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Panera Tests New AI Ordering Technology for Drive-Thru Lanes

by Katie Lee

St. Louis — On Aug. 29, 2022, Panera Bread began testing AI technology in drive-thru lanes with an aim to improve and enhance the guest experience. With support from OpenCity, select Panera bakery-cafes in the greater Rochester, N.Y., area have implemented OpenCity’s proprietary voice AI ordering technology, called “Tori,” for drive-thru orders, with the goal of maximizing efficiency and increasing speed of orders. Guests at Panera Bread cafes in Greece, N.Y., and Webster, N.Y., are the first Panera locations to experience this drive-thru innovation. Tori is installed at these select …

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Panera Brands Appoints New Chief Financial Officer

by Katie Lee

St. Louis — Panera Brands Inc., whose brands include Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Brands, has appointed Konrad Meyer as chief financial officer, effective August 22, 2022. Meyer joins Panera Brands from JAB, where he has been a partner helping to source and oversee its investments, including its fast-casual restaurant portfolio. He brings significant experience in the industry, including previously serving as interim CFO of Pret a Manger. Ted Stedem, current Panera Brands CFO, is stepping down from his role to pursue other interests after supporting the company …

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Panera Opens First “Panera To Go” Digital-Only Restaurant for Off-Premise Dining

by Katie Lee

St. Louis — Panera Bread has opened the first “Panera To Go,” a new Panera Bread restaurant format offering digitally-enabled convenience for Rapid Pick-Up® and Delivery orders. The Chicago-based restaurant is the first of three Panera To Go test locations scheduled to open this year. Two additional Panera To Go cafes will open in California and Washington D.C. this year; the company will also evaluate adding in kiosk and catering orders to the new format in the future. Panera To Go is a digital-only bakery-cafe, with a reduced front of …

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Zaxby’s Hires CDO and Elevates Interim Chief Digital & Technology Officer

by Katie Lee

Athens, Ga. — Zaxby’s, the premium quick-service restaurant brand founded in Athens, Ga., has hired industry franchising veteran Mike Mettler as its new chief development officer, while Mike Nettles, interim chief digital & technology officer, has been elevated to the position long term. “Franchising growth requires four things. A strong business model, a solid culture, passionate franchise owners and strategic areas to develop — Zaxby’s has them all,” says Mettler. Adds Nettles: “Zaxby’s has had a great ride thus far, but digital accessibility will be our ‘secret sauce’ for the …

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