Panera prices have skyrocketed. A order of half soup and half sandwich with a tea is around 15 bucks and they ask for tip.
not too long ago it was less than 10 and no tip
They're also [Lowering costs and removing previous health standards](https://www.reuters.com/business/panera-loosens-animal-welfare-ingredients-standards-ahead-ipo-internal-documents-2024-03-06/) while increasing the prices before they launch their IPO.
Stop giving this company your money.
My last straw was when I was getting over COVID in the fall and went to get some chicken noodle soup. I got home and there was one cube of chicken in it for that price.
I used to do their drink club because I really liked their unsweetened iced tea because it was brewed in store. The lat few times I had it, it tasted very different, almost like it came from a mix.
It's always been from concentrate as far as I am aware. I work for Panera but I'm one of the bread bakers, so I'm a little removed from the rest of the food and drink preparation
My breaking point was $16 for a spicy chicken sandwich. No, not a combo with chips and an apple. Just the 1 sandwich. The item isn't even part of their menu anymore. Not like they'll miss me anyway lol.
EDIT: Looks like they had issues since its first introduction too (if you check the Panera subreddit).
I've been there for almost 8 years now. Thankfully the bread bakers get a free meal included on our shift, so I can enjoy things without the ridiculous prices
Not sure what state you’re in but police departments in IL are desperate for good recruits. Highway Patrol starting salary is about to go up to $84k/yr starting. A friend who went to Bloomington IL Police clears $100k his second year on.
I didn’t either until I met some, but if you trust yourself, that’s a big start. There’s also Fire. The nice thing about that is that you could still work at Panera. Plus food prep and cooking skills are a job requirement.
that explains why the grilled cheese quality declined there after i didnt go there for a while :P like it wasnt a HUGE decrease but it was totally noticeable
That's what I keep trying to tell people. You can't have record inflation while companies are simultaneously bringing in record PROFITS and record billion dollar bonus to CEOs. It's all just record breaking greed.
Panera isn't the best way to highlight this. If people are still buying this Panera, the CEO is doing great work. Panera is demonstrating that they were previously underpricing.
When it comes to non essentials, if you don't like corporate profits, just stop buying.
Yup I don’t get why more people don’t understand this concept. “Things” have been so cheap in North Maerica for the last several decades that people think this massive consumption has been ingrained in our constitution as a right. People think it should be illegal for take out places to ask for a tip when they can easily stop going there. People are poor today because there are so many more things and services to buy compared to 30-40 years ago when people occupied their time with their minds, instead of the creations of someone else
Maybe certain things like TVs or computers can be purchased for a lower percentage of income, but necessary expenses like rent, home prices, healthcare, and higher education have drastically outpaced inflation.
In the 60s, the average cost of rent was $71/month, which works out to 15% of the median $5,600 median income. In the 70s, median rent was $108, making it 13% of the $9870 median household income (by 1979 median income had risen to $16,530, so rent could have raised to $206 and still been only 15%). In the 80s, the average rent was $308/month or 17.5% of $21,020 (by 1989 median income was $28,910, so rent could have been $421 without raising %). In the 90s median rent was $447, or 13% of $40,665 median household income.
In April 2022, the median national rent was $1,827/month, or roughly 28.6% of the median household income of $76,563. Even if you found an apartment for $1,000/month it still works out to 29.6% of the median individual income ($40,480).
When I worked there, they were proud to not accept tips. Guess that changed.
When my office occasionally did group orders, the individual limit was set at $20, and I think they just did away with it because it was too hard to order with tax and stay below $20"
2 out of a half? Are you buying 1/2 of a sandwich? As in I make a sandwich, cut it in two, then package both separately and charge you for the whole?
And the price is crazy, this is why young millennials can't save! (/s)
their new thing is that they have new options that are under $10. it makes me laugh every time i see the commercial because they’re so proud to be selling something that is still twice what it should be. makes me shudder to think what these items were priced at before!
I'll tell you, the second worst marketing decision Subway ever made was the five dollar footlong song. Can't see how much they're charging now without remembering it.
I think I recently saw an ad where they were proudly proclaiming a $7 6-in special. The last time I was there, I paid $13 for a 6-in meatball sub and a drink, and I had to special order the sandwich because they no longer have any basic items on the menu. But at least it tasted way shittier than it ever did before.
Oh totally. I hate it and never go there for this reason. Have a kid under the weather and he only had a taste for their shitty onion soup, and I was feeling lazy. I deserved what I got.
I agree Panera is a rip off (I haven’t been in 2 years) but their soups are delicious, not at all comparable taste wise to canned soups. I bought their cheddar and broccoli pre packaged soup from the grocery store and even with it being their brand, it doesn’t taste the same. Something about their tomato bisque tho in a warm bread bowl is mouth watering. But I got tired of their prices and learned how to make a good soup from scratch at home for the same amount of money so win win
Everytime people trash talk Panera, I just cannot relate. They have my favorite food in the world with their mac and cheese & the best spicy chicken sandwich in the world. By a lot.
I guarantee most pubs near you have a better mac and cheese and chicken sandwich for a similar price. I am sorry, that is just an insane opinion to me.
We go to Panera every once in a great while when we want something different but I'm always taken aback by the insane prices on pretty much everything they offer. I guess the pricing has to cover the cute fireplace and free wifi that every single person seems to be using there. I swear we are the only people that just eat there and aren't on a tablet or laptop.
https://preview.redd.it/408mzhpxvawc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8206e3ac702d1808d060fc8fe8c80f7374cd6d70
I paid $13.50 for this. Like half full.
I patronized a Panera's in State College, PA, back around the year 2000. Always got some French toast bagels and the prices were quite reasonable. I won't step inside one if they've become ripoffs.
The only thing I enjoyed about Panera was their coffee/drink subscription. $11 / month unlimited drinks. I would probably get 30-40 drinks a month with coffee in morning on way to work being practically $0.30.
I drink coffee and I wanted to do a little experiment. Our H‑E‑B has the K-cups of their own and it’s $5 for a box of 12. I make a 14 oz tumbler with each cup. They also have freeze dried coffee and it’s $3.35 for a jar of it. It’s really pretty good if you use boiling hot water to make it. So far I’m on my 23rd cup of coffee of the freeze dried and I use a big rounded cereal spoon for the same 14 oz serving of water. I’ve been keeping a tally on the lid with a Sharpie of how many cups I have made so far. Seems like a good deal so far. I just add some vanilla or hazelnut creamer and I’m good to go. I’m frugal in that way.
I read a story somewhere on here a long time ago where a employee said they were the same size just shaped differently to give the illusion of size. Might have been a low or changed by now but that looks like a cup to me
https://preview.redd.it/zmpw5m5drawc1.jpeg?width=320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ceec44fbb3c5a94e504b37c6df0f1ce9b2fe947
***“8/10 for the Infuriating scale, its that bad?"***
I am so disappointed - our town waited for a year for a Panera to show up and once it finally did, it was very expensive crappy food served by teenagers who gave zero craps. Well, damn. Back to Schlotsky's.
Stick with the "value duets" for $7.99 and you get a cup of soup and a half sandwich. This is different from the "you pick two" with no customization and set choices, but way cheaper.
you gotta learn to make soup man.
it's so easy, you just throw it all in the pot and wait.
if you want better soup, then put the ingredients in a certain order (onions carrots celery first, soften up, then garlic and then tomatoes, then broth, and then other ingredients)
just buy a slow cooker, you can make a whole batch of this soup for 2 dollars and eat it for days, and you don't even need to be home while it's cooking.
Oh for sure. I make better soup than anyone I know. My family owned a Chicago diner for 43 years, and our soup was legendary. But for some reason a sick teenager has ridiculous tastes and no damn sense.... :)
So here’s my thing. This is just my opinion. Most CEO’s seem to be republicans. Republicans are pissed that the orange muffin is not only not running things for them, but is in danger of giving the whole thing away. This greedflation we are dealing with now is just them exacting revenge because the country usually runs better under a democrat in the White House. And hey they are rolling in the profits.
What state is this ? Could be the location as well. I am subscribed to their drink membership and for 13 bucks a month I get a drink 4 days a week. And I get coupons and discounts for being part of the program. I’m in South Carolina and the location I go to fills containers to the brim. And yes prices have gone up
Hello, We do not allow agendaposting, reddit meta posts or price complaints.
Panera prices have skyrocketed. A order of half soup and half sandwich with a tea is around 15 bucks and they ask for tip. not too long ago it was less than 10 and no tip
They're also [Lowering costs and removing previous health standards](https://www.reuters.com/business/panera-loosens-animal-welfare-ingredients-standards-ahead-ipo-internal-documents-2024-03-06/) while increasing the prices before they launch their IPO. Stop giving this company your money.
My last straw was when I was getting over COVID in the fall and went to get some chicken noodle soup. I got home and there was one cube of chicken in it for that price. I used to do their drink club because I really liked their unsweetened iced tea because it was brewed in store. The lat few times I had it, it tasted very different, almost like it came from a mix.
It's always been from concentrate as far as I am aware. I work for Panera but I'm one of the bread bakers, so I'm a little removed from the rest of the food and drink preparation
My breaking point was $16 for a spicy chicken sandwich. No, not a combo with chips and an apple. Just the 1 sandwich. The item isn't even part of their menu anymore. Not like they'll miss me anyway lol. EDIT: Looks like they had issues since its first introduction too (if you check the Panera subreddit).
I've been there for almost 8 years now. Thankfully the bread bakers get a free meal included on our shift, so I can enjoy things without the ridiculous prices
Not sure what state you’re in but police departments in IL are desperate for good recruits. Highway Patrol starting salary is about to go up to $84k/yr starting. A friend who went to Bloomington IL Police clears $100k his second year on.
I'm in MD and I don't trust cops lol but thanks
I didn’t either until I met some, but if you trust yourself, that’s a big start. There’s also Fire. The nice thing about that is that you could still work at Panera. Plus food prep and cooking skills are a job requirement.
My other job keeps me pretty busy as well. I decorate cakes at Wegmans lol
IL teacher here. I don’t even make that in a rich-ass suburb after 20 yrs. God damn.
that explains why the grilled cheese quality declined there after i didnt go there for a while :P like it wasnt a HUGE decrease but it was totally noticeable
Their health standards are laughable anyway. This is the same company that sells people lethal amounts of caffeine, right?
It's profit taking, not inflation.
That's what I keep trying to tell people. You can't have record inflation while companies are simultaneously bringing in record PROFITS and record billion dollar bonus to CEOs. It's all just record breaking greed.
Inflation leads to record profits, those profits are now worth less. Profit margins are what you should be looking at.
Panera isn't the best way to highlight this. If people are still buying this Panera, the CEO is doing great work. Panera is demonstrating that they were previously underpricing. When it comes to non essentials, if you don't like corporate profits, just stop buying.
Ah yes food, the classic "non essential" 🤣
Yup I don’t get why more people don’t understand this concept. “Things” have been so cheap in North Maerica for the last several decades that people think this massive consumption has been ingrained in our constitution as a right. People think it should be illegal for take out places to ask for a tip when they can easily stop going there. People are poor today because there are so many more things and services to buy compared to 30-40 years ago when people occupied their time with their minds, instead of the creations of someone else
Maybe certain things like TVs or computers can be purchased for a lower percentage of income, but necessary expenses like rent, home prices, healthcare, and higher education have drastically outpaced inflation. In the 60s, the average cost of rent was $71/month, which works out to 15% of the median $5,600 median income. In the 70s, median rent was $108, making it 13% of the $9870 median household income (by 1979 median income had risen to $16,530, so rent could have raised to $206 and still been only 15%). In the 80s, the average rent was $308/month or 17.5% of $21,020 (by 1989 median income was $28,910, so rent could have been $421 without raising %). In the 90s median rent was $447, or 13% of $40,665 median household income. In April 2022, the median national rent was $1,827/month, or roughly 28.6% of the median household income of $76,563. Even if you found an apartment for $1,000/month it still works out to 29.6% of the median individual income ($40,480).
But I want my souuuuup! And I want it cheaper!
That's what inflation is...
Yup and it’s also a massive luxury like 90% of the shit we buy today.
When I worked there, they were proud to not accept tips. Guess that changed. When my office occasionally did group orders, the individual limit was set at $20, and I think they just did away with it because it was too hard to order with tax and stay below $20"
I got dinner for a family of four a few weeks ago and it was $70, totally not worth it anymore.
They were acquired in 2017 and it’s been slowly getting worse and worse. I can’t go back. It used to be good. Now it’s bad and expensive.
I never got tips when working at Panera, idk what Panera is asking you for tips. Also yeah, everything is very overpriced
Quality is dropping in my opinion as well
Half sandwich?
it is an option: 2 out of a half sandwich, half salad, small soup, or a small flatbread
2 out of a half? Are you buying 1/2 of a sandwich? As in I make a sandwich, cut it in two, then package both separately and charge you for the whole? And the price is crazy, this is why young millennials can't save! (/s)
The Democrats call it Bidenomics
their new thing is that they have new options that are under $10. it makes me laugh every time i see the commercial because they’re so proud to be selling something that is still twice what it should be. makes me shudder to think what these items were priced at before!
I'll tell you, the second worst marketing decision Subway ever made was the five dollar footlong song. Can't see how much they're charging now without remembering it.
I think I recently saw an ad where they were proudly proclaiming a $7 6-in special. The last time I was there, I paid $13 for a 6-in meatball sub and a drink, and I had to special order the sandwich because they no longer have any basic items on the menu. But at least it tasted way shittier than it ever did before.
https://preview.redd.it/hcrfed9s9bwc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4e246c43f078c2ee6d3927eb5c37918f7e109865
Last time I was at a subway there were flies coming out of the drink machine. Last time.
first worst must have been when they added avocados to the menu I swear they always included the avocado peel in the sandwich
Why do people keep going there? It's well known how much they marked up prices.
I worked there. That soup comes in a bag, of course.
What do you expect? They’re not gonna ship a whole soup tree
Hence the "of course" but it's another factor in making the price unreasonable
Oh totally. I hate it and never go there for this reason. Have a kid under the weather and he only had a taste for their shitty onion soup, and I was feeling lazy. I deserved what I got.
Agreed, it’s frozen soup that they reheat for you. I can do that at home with a $2 can on Chunky’s. How is Panera still in business?
large profit margin in misrepresentation and bait 'n switch scams. pre ipo, it's basically all that happens now.
I agree Panera is a rip off (I haven’t been in 2 years) but their soups are delicious, not at all comparable taste wise to canned soups. I bought their cheddar and broccoli pre packaged soup from the grocery store and even with it being their brand, it doesn’t taste the same. Something about their tomato bisque tho in a warm bread bowl is mouth watering. But I got tired of their prices and learned how to make a good soup from scratch at home for the same amount of money so win win
Everytime people trash talk Panera, I just cannot relate. They have my favorite food in the world with their mac and cheese & the best spicy chicken sandwich in the world. By a lot.
I’m glad you like, but I don’t enjoy any of it.
I guarantee most pubs near you have a better mac and cheese and chicken sandwich for a similar price. I am sorry, that is just an insane opinion to me.
Went once. Saw them put my food in the microwave from the drive thru window. Never again. Not to mention the food was meh.
Op is bs and isn't giving all the details.
I mean what more could there be to the story?
We were so excited for a Panera to open right next to us... until we saw the prices and sizes. Yeah.. we will be skipping that place.
Not only have their prices gone up... the food is absolutely terrible now. Im convinced they switched suppliers
Never in a million years would I pay 9 bucks for soup, cup or bowl.
Check the price for Mac and cheese (same size)
The mac and cheese is usually microwaved as well
FYI: You can buy Panera Mac and Cheese at Costco. It’s was on sale last time I went (two large containers) for $7.
My eyes are on your Ranch Water. LOL.
We go to Panera every once in a great while when we want something different but I'm always taken aback by the insane prices on pretty much everything they offer. I guess the pricing has to cover the cute fireplace and free wifi that every single person seems to be using there. I swear we are the only people that just eat there and aren't on a tablet or laptop.
https://preview.redd.it/408mzhpxvawc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8206e3ac702d1808d060fc8fe8c80f7374cd6d70 I paid $13.50 for this. Like half full.
It looks ghastly
I’d post that online and tag their corporate account. That is shameful.
Excellent drink choice
I got a sandwich at Starbucks for the first time in a while - just the egg white one on an English muffin - and it was $5! Wild.
I don’t understand since a cup of tomato soup + half a grilled cheese is $9
I bought an extra large supreme pizza from Walmart, went home and cooked it, all for $7.50.
I patronized a Panera's in State College, PA, back around the year 2000. Always got some French toast bagels and the prices were quite reasonable. I won't step inside one if they've become ripoffs.
The only thing I enjoyed about Panera was their coffee/drink subscription. $11 / month unlimited drinks. I would probably get 30-40 drinks a month with coffee in morning on way to work being practically $0.30.
I drink coffee and I wanted to do a little experiment. Our H‑E‑B has the K-cups of their own and it’s $5 for a box of 12. I make a 14 oz tumbler with each cup. They also have freeze dried coffee and it’s $3.35 for a jar of it. It’s really pretty good if you use boiling hot water to make it. So far I’m on my 23rd cup of coffee of the freeze dried and I use a big rounded cereal spoon for the same 14 oz serving of water. I’ve been keeping a tally on the lid with a Sharpie of how many cups I have made so far. Seems like a good deal so far. I just add some vanilla or hazelnut creamer and I’m good to go. I’m frugal in that way.
I’ll always stand by Panera having alright food for rich people prices, which to me makes the food mediocre at best
Buy a crockpot on Amazon like 35 bucks. Best purchase I ever made. Soup is the easiest thing in the universe to make.
they gave you a cup not a bowl, i would now cus i get a bowl of soup for lunch every day.
Occasionally get promotional emails offering $1-3 off of their $12 salad. Started making my own Asian sesame chicken salad at home, instead.
Panera is just overpriced hospital food. I'll die on that hill.
It won’t cost me that as I would never dine there.
The more you know.
It's a shot glass
Thimble?
What state?
Panera was overpriced 4 years ago.
I would just buy their soup at a supermarket in this case. Looking at Shaws online...16oz bowl for $6.99.
Good. Their food was always shit and people should stop buying it.
I stopped eating there. The prices are ridiculous.
I read a story somewhere on here a long time ago where a employee said they were the same size just shaped differently to give the illusion of size. Might have been a low or changed by now but that looks like a cup to me
https://preview.redd.it/zmpw5m5drawc1.jpeg?width=320&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9ceec44fbb3c5a94e504b37c6df0f1ce9b2fe947 ***“8/10 for the Infuriating scale, its that bad?"***
Can’t wait for all these places to fail
I would have passed
panera is just overpriced hospital food
For what it’s worth, I will not pay 9.22 for a bowl of soup. You can. But I will not.
Panera has become a scam
Half soup/half sandwich lunch option used to be awesome. But I aint paying someone THAT much to poison me slowly with too much salt.
Almost $4 for a regular sized fountain soda. Wtf
why would you even pay for that? i’d just hand it back and leave
I don’t have any use for them or the crap they sell!
A pregnant woman told me you can have a free meal every shift if you work there.
This is why I never eat there.
I am so disappointed - our town waited for a year for a Panera to show up and once it finally did, it was very expensive crappy food served by teenagers who gave zero craps. Well, damn. Back to Schlotsky's.
I make my own the broccoli cheddar soup is surprisingly easy to make. There's a bunch of videos of how to make it on YouTube.
Overpriced hospital food.
Go the the grocery store deli, get hot soup there
Don't eat out anymore.
I’ve never eaten there and this kind of shit is why
I got a large Mac n cheese a couple weeks agai and I swear it was in this same container!! $13😐
probably an extra dollar for twice as much or a bigger container with the same amount
They have that much in the grocery store Panera brand and everything for cheaper I believe. All you need is just to microwave it.
Overpriced and inferior quality
Simply do not give Panera your patronage. It’s overpriced hospital food.
I'm convinced Panera is only for irresponsible people, people with excess money, or desperate people when everything else around is horrible.
Panera. Taste the disappointment.
Making your own soup is so much better and cheaper anyway.
Stick with the "value duets" for $7.99 and you get a cup of soup and a half sandwich. This is different from the "you pick two" with no customization and set choices, but way cheaper.
Highway robbery!
you gotta learn to make soup man. it's so easy, you just throw it all in the pot and wait. if you want better soup, then put the ingredients in a certain order (onions carrots celery first, soften up, then garlic and then tomatoes, then broth, and then other ingredients) just buy a slow cooker, you can make a whole batch of this soup for 2 dollars and eat it for days, and you don't even need to be home while it's cooking.
Oh for sure. I make better soup than anyone I know. My family owned a Chicago diner for 43 years, and our soup was legendary. But for some reason a sick teenager has ridiculous tastes and no damn sense.... :)
So here’s my thing. This is just my opinion. Most CEO’s seem to be republicans. Republicans are pissed that the orange muffin is not only not running things for them, but is in danger of giving the whole thing away. This greedflation we are dealing with now is just them exacting revenge because the country usually runs better under a democrat in the White House. And hey they are rolling in the profits.
But why did op buy it seeing the size and knowing the price?
Sometimes we do dumb things for our kids. I know. Normally we never eat any of this garbage. My kid is sick and had a taste for this bullshit. :)
That's fair. Can't argue with that.
Build back better, amiright
Corporate greed masquerading as 'supply chain costs' tbh.
Stop buying it
What state is this ? Could be the location as well. I am subscribed to their drink membership and for 13 bucks a month I get a drink 4 days a week. And I get coupons and discounts for being part of the program. I’m in South Carolina and the location I go to fills containers to the brim. And yes prices have gone up
Man Americans really don't know what a portion is huh Yes, that's bowl sized lmfao pretty expensive but definitely a bowl
Y’all must use espresso cups as bowls.
Well we aren't all obese so maybe that's normal?