Panera opens in Highlands

You are quite welcome Bill,
And in regards, to the marketing, it seems it pays to be "good at bad"

Drove past this Panera yesterday. Just looking in the windows in the noon hour, they looked really slow, only saw a few people eating at tables.

This is a lunch type of place and I'm not sure if they have enough of a daytime lunch crowd in that area to support this location. They'll probably do well on weekends but that may not be enough, we'll see. . .

Drove past this Panera yesterday. Just looking in the windows in the noon hour, they looked really slow, only saw a few people eating at tables.

This is a lunch type of place and I'm not sure if they have enough of a daytime lunch crowd in that area to support this location. They'll probably do well on weekends but that may not be enough, we'll see. . .

Good to know. When I get the craving for a 1,000 calorie bagel, this is the location I'll visit, since the one at Dutchman's is ALWAYS packed to the gills.

Good to know. When I get the craving for a 1,000 calorie bagel.

You want some fruit with that?

My wife & I felt like a deli late lunch yesterday (Sunday) while doing our circuit through the neighborhood & Cherokee Park. We went to Panera instead of the usual Subway. The interior has been changed dramatically as you'd expect. I counted 28 diners at 3PM on that Sunday. Only a couple of people were dealing with the summer and sitting outside on the al fresco patio dining area. The umbrellas help with the sun but not much you can do about the humidity. We'd been in the one on Dutchmans but it has been a few years, so I was pleasantly surprised by that they list the calories on the menu board, both for the full portions and the Pick 2 combo portions. As a person who reads labels & uses a kitchen food scale at home that is a HUGE factor for me and will make a big difference in picking a place to eat when out for a long walk. I was able to get a 560-calorie lunch by picking a half turkey sandwich on wheat (210 cal), a cup of broccoli cheddar (190) & I ate a bag of chips (160). My drink was zero cal & I skipped the extra calories of cheese or any dressing on the sandwich. I expect part of how they keep the calories down is by giving you portions a normal human being might actual finish without feeling worse than when they came in the door. Listing the calories is also why I hit Subway two or three times a month, 6-inch veggie patty & don't miss the dressing or cheese with all the onions, green peppers and jalapenos I have them pile on. On the couple of meals a week where I plurge I'd still gravitate to Stevens & Stevens if deciding to go for deli. On other days, it looks like Panera is giving me a viable option to Subway.

My wife and I go to Panera on Sunday mornings for bagels. We usually go to the one on Dutchman's but went to the Highlands location this week. The Dutchmans location is usually packed on Sundays, but the Highlands location was very slow.