The Evolution of Panera’s Bread-making Process: Get Ready for a New Sandwich Experience

Panera Bread is closing all its fresh dough factories in a shift towards frozen bread.

The popular chain confirmed this week it will shutter all remaining factories within two years as part of a move toward an ‘on-demand’ baking model. 

Instead of mixing and shaping dough in-house, Panera will partner with third-party bakeries that follow its recipes. 

The bread will be par-baked, frozen, and then finished in stores throughout the day. 

Panera Bread stated to DailyMail.com that this new approach helps them increase the availability of their popular breads, maintain quality, and foster innovation and variety.

The change means customers will no longer get bread baked fresh that morning, though Panera insists quality won’t be compromised. 

The closures are part of a broader turnaround strategy led by new CEO Paul Carbone, which includes a major menu revamp.  

Facilities in Lenexa, Kansas, and Greensboro, North Carolina, will be among the first to close — impacting nearly 150 workers. 

The chain will close all of its fresh dough facilities over the next two years and begin serving par-baked and frozen bread

The chain serves sandwiches, pastries, soups and salads, and has around 2,200 locations in the US

The company has already shut down other dough facilities in California, Texas, Arizona, Georgia, Colorado, and Washington. 

Roughly 350 employees were laid off last year. 

With its existing centralized Fresh Dough Facilities, dough is prepped and then sent to 2,200 locations to be baked fresh daily. 

The new model shifts all early prep to external partners who will then deliver it frozen to stores. 

Panera says laid-off workers will be offered job fairs, benefits, and reassignment opportunities. 

The changes come as Panera battles slumping sales, which fell 5 percent last year to $6.1 billion. 

It also follows the nationwide removal of its controversial Charged Lemonade after the drink was linked to multiple deaths.

Despite the shake-up, Panera says great bread will remain ‘at the heart of the Panera experience.’ 

The chain has already implemented changes as part of a three-year strategic turnaround plan, which included a menu overhaul

Following the association of its Charged Lemonade with multiple fatalities, including that of Sarah Katz in 2022, Panera Bread made the decision to remove the product from all its stores nationwide.

Panera Bread is now under the umbrella of Panera Brands, a parent company that also possesses Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels and is ultimately owned by the conglomerate JAB Holding, based in Luxembourg.

CEO José Alberto Dueñas stepped down in January, and Paul Carbone, the company’s CFO, has been named interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent replacement. 

Meanwhile, rival Subway quietly shuttered 631 locations last year. It means the chain  has fewer than 20,000 locations in the US for the first time in 20 years.

It marks the eighth straight year Subway has shuttered restaurants in its home country. It peaked at around 27,000 stores in 2015.

Despite the decline, Subway still holds the title of America’s largest restaurant chain by location count.

Multiple franchisees have also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and the chain abruptly closed 23 locations across two states after a bank hacking nightmare.