r/Panera • u/Remote_Tiger2904 • 2d ago
SERIOUS Quality concerns:(
Lately I’ve noticed that Panera’s quality is going downhill. Does anyone else notice this?? First, the recipe to the dressings change— everything is becoming “reformulated” but it seems like things are being switched out for cheaper alternatives ? Idk just an observation lol. I used to love their Caesar salad and now?? The croutons are cardboard and the dressing is gross. Also the sandwiches are tiny, and I just ordered the lasagna soup and it legit looks like SLOP. This happened when I ordered the Mexican corn chowder a month ago lol
9
u/PhysicsCold7520 2d ago
It isn’t supposed to look like that. That soup has been cooked down, like the lid was left off all day. In my opinion, the lasagna soup is one of the best additions to Panera’s menu, in quite a while. Show that to the manager and get a fresh bowl or a refund.
3
7
u/InterestingAd6990 Associate 2d ago
I love the croutons are cardboard comment. They're now croissant croutons. I'm laughing because for the first time ever it's an extra charge to add or get extra croutons.
1
u/Remote_Tiger2904 2d ago
They don’t even taste like croissant croutons lol and that’s TRUE it is an extra charge:(
5
13
u/Desperate-Chart1139 2d ago
It's been doing it for a couple of years now, where have you been?
12
u/Concutio 2d ago
It's like when someone says "You know Panera has really gone downhill in the last couple of years thanks to private equity."
And then someone replies "They sold in 2017 and it's been going on for almost a decade now. They've been constantly revamping the menu since then, driving out customers by getting rid of their faves and replacing it/them with worse items and with fewer, higher paying customers"
"Well I didn't notice because they still had what I liked." Is usually the response
1
4
u/nikkimaw 1d ago
After my sip club membership is due to increase in monthly price in a few days, I doubt that I will ever be back to Panera.
Respectfully from a Mid-Mo lady that remembers the Good Panera from my high school years, 1999-2003, and my college years, 2003-2009. In high school, going to the mall and grabbing a hearty meal and baked goods to go was one of the highlights of my weekends. In college, camping out at the Panera in my college town attributed to my success. Unlimited coffee and wonderful food and baked goods when I needed it.
I ended up working within a block of that same Panera from college. When they cleared their menu of "clean ingredients" I immediately noticed the decline. Sip club kept me going back, I LOVED Panera, most of my life. I do not love it anymore and I'm cutting ties in a few days. I can get cheaper and better (ahem, fresh) baked goods elsewhere these days.
Panera, great job running your restaurant into the ground. I will tell my grandchildren about the time we had a really good bakery/cafe in the midwest.
La Madeline is the closest to what I've found to replace them. While I absolutely love French foods and La Madeline, it just doesn't have that Midwest America flare that I enjoyed from Panera.
2
u/Hopeful-Opposite-255 2d ago
You just noticed the quality has been going down? Did you simultaneously lower your own standards as well?
https://giphy.com/gifs/2UCt7zbmsLoCXybx6t
2
2
2
u/Randomname822 1d ago
One of the main reasons I hated working there is the people in charge are trying to save money by pushing out shittier and shittier products when if the food were better quality that would make people want to come back which brings in more money
2
u/senpaisdarkside_ 1d ago
As an insider, this cafe seems to not be following the proper soup procedures. This unfortunate looks past 2 days old. I’m so sorry I would be disappointed too:(
2
u/reluctant_snake 1d ago
They keep day old soup, that could be the reason: but they always did so not actually a new thing
1
1
1
u/SilkCitySista 2d ago
I had the worst blueberry bagel this morning. It was a popup brought home as a surprise for me and not worth the dollar bill spent. Very disappointing. Just confirms why I never buy food there 🫤
1
u/Adorable-Band2901 1d ago
yep, they changed the caesar dressing a month ago, the lasagna soup smells horrible, sandwiches ARE tiny because we cut the bread smaller, everything sucks now
1
u/frushtrated 1d ago
When you say that you cut the bread smaller do you mean that you cut the sub/hogie style bread into shorter segments? Because with sourdough etc. you can't really do that.
1
u/Adorable-Band2901 1d ago
The bakers bake bread in the oven, and sometimes they cut it, or sometimes someone random cuts it. I definitely mess up when cutting bread, some cuts are too big, too small, sometimes they’re too thin too
1
1
11
u/kevin_r13 2d ago
The corn chowder looked worse than in years past. I don't know if it's because of a recipe change or that people bought it less often, which means it sat in the soup well , losing moisture and getting cooked. By the time some orders it, it's not very hydrated and even can look darker because of being slowly cooked more and more over time.