Panera: Friend or Foe?

In recent weeks, I have had a budding obsession with Panera Bread. I have always had a strong hatred for Panera Bread, mostly because the food is so deliciously bad for you, that I always want to eat it, but never can bring myself to doing so.

For those of you that have never been to a Panera Bread restaurant, let me set the scene. Upon entering Panera, smells of fresh baked bread, and coffee are thrown at you. Generally, there is some type of jazzy music playing, both soothing enough to have conversation over and interesting enough that if you’re not having a conversation it is still enjoyable. There is a bevy of baked goods that one can see upon entering, including scones, muffins, cookies, and cakes (a beautiful selection, I might add). On the counter there is small cups of granola, orange juice, and fruit. The seats are comfortable, and the lighting is perfect.

Judging by that last paragraph, one would wonder…how can anyone dislike Panera? I applaud the marketing department of Panera, which give the restaurant a feeling of “healthy” and “wholesome” eating, without being specific enough to let anyone know that you are being led astray from your diet. By the atmosphere present in Panera, I would not be surprised to find an advertisement stating that all ingredients in the food at Panera is both organic, and locally grown. Instead of this there is a sign explaining “the recipe of Panera.” This includes “a never ending passion for giving you better choices for honest, real food and welcoming places.” Notice that in this, there is no mention of panera’s nutrition facts. The adjectives used to describe the chain are ones which beckon the diner to believe that this is a place for real food, good food, and a good atmosphere. Perhaps it is only me that assumes Panera is a healthy food establishment, but I doubt it. Bravo, Panera for using advertising that confusing me enough into thinking that your Chipotle Chicken Sandwich on Artisan French would be a good choice of meal for me.

And now for a little comparison: I will use the aforementioned Panera sandwich, Chipotle Chicken, and a quarter pounder from Mcdonald’s. My favorite part of sitting in Panera is looking at the nutrition facts of all the food while I sit, gawking at the amount of fat in almost everything here. So here goes, I hope you all are as surprised as I am about this: A Chipotle Chicken sandwich has 56g of fat, (equaling 86% of your daily fat intake). The sandwich also has 900 calories, which for a woman is about 45% of your caloric intake for the day. Though no one really monitors their sodium intake, this number is also astounding to me, the Chipotle Chicken Sandwich has 2100mgs of sodium, equaling 90% of your daily sodium intake. And now onto the quarter pounder. The McDonald’s Quarter Pounder sandwich has 510 calories, per sandwich, amounting to about 26% of a person’s daily caloric intake. This sandwich has 19g of fat, a whopping 37 g less than the choice Panera sandwich. The quarter pounder also has 1190mg of sodium, equaling about 51% of your daily sodium intake.

In conclusion, I am torn between my love-hate relationship with Panera. Are we being tricked into thinking that the food here at Panera is healthy, or are we just being lazy in not finding out if what we think about a restaurant is true? I can’t decide who is at fault in this situation, the customer, or the company? Sure Panera can do things to make their nutrition information is more public, or they can take steps to making their restaurant a little healthier, but why should they? Their advertising campaign is genius, giving an idea that they are one thing, while really they are the complete opposite. And so Panera, i hate you, but I love to hate you.

*all nutrition facts were taken directly off of Panera, and McDonald’s websites