Panera: Pay what you can afford St. Louis Business Journal Date: Tuesday, May 18, 2010, 10:29am CDT Related: Retailing & Restaurants Sponsored Links Enjoy the benefits of OPEN Charge Cards No pre-set spending limit, premium services, & valuable rewards. Learn more www.AmericanExpress.com/OPEN Get the Business Gold Rewards Card® The Business Card with no pre-set spending limit & premium rewards. Learn more www.AmericanExpress.com/OPEN Quicken Loans Rate Drop Advantage Refinance now and if rates drop, we'll pay most of your closing costs! www.QuickenLoans.com Ron Shaich Sponsored Links American Express – Savings Accounts FDIC Insured Savings Accounts with No Monthly Fees or Minimum Balances. PersonalSavings.AmericanExpress.com Download Free CRM White Paper from SAP Read this white paper, get the basics on CRM, and avoid the "CRM paradox” www.sap.com Business Platinum Card® Enjoy no pre-set spending limit and over 30 premium benefits. Start benefiting www.AmericanExpress.com/OPEN Panera Bread Co. has reopened a downtown Clayton location as a nonprofit where customers can pay what they can afford. “Take what you need, leave your fair share,” says a sign at the entrance of the Saint Louis Bread Company Cares Café. Patrons who can’t pay are asked to volunteer their time. The café, which reopened Sunday as a nonprofit, has cashiers who provide receipts with suggested prices and direct customers to the store’s five donation boxes. The menu is the same, except for the day-old baked goods brought in from sister stores in the area. “I’m trying to find out what human nature is all about,” Ron Shaich, who stepped down as Panera’s CEO last week but remains as chairman, told USA Today. “My hope is that we can eventually do this in every community where there’s a Panera.” The location’s revenue was up 20 percent on opening day over the previous Sunday, he told the national newspaper. Shaich said he plans to open two more of the non-profit cafés in two more cities in the next six months, but declined to say where. While some independently run cafés in Denver, Salt Lake City and Highland Park, N.J., are nonprofits, this marks the first time a national restaurant chain has tried the model, according to USA Today. Panera ’s profit soared 48 percent in the first quarter as the restaurant’s strategy of investing in the company instead of slashing costs amid the economic downturn continued to pay off. The Richmond Heights, Mo.-based bakery-café (NASDAQ: PNRA) reported a profit of $25.8 million for the 13 weeks ended March 30, up from $17.4 million a year earlier. Panera, better known locally as St. Louis Bread Co., recorded revenue of $364.2 million for the first quarter, up 14 percent from $320.7 million in the prior-year quarter.
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