It's a mystery.

"A Panera Bread Company restaurant in the St. Louis area where patrons for eight years had the option of paying as much or little as they wanted for a meal is closing its doors.

Panera founder and Executive Chairman Ron Shaich told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the St. Louis Bread Co. Cares Community Cafe in Clayton, Missouri, is imminently due to close because it was on a month-to-month lease and the store would have required a big investment.

* * *

'The nature of the economics did not make sense,' Shaich said.

***

'We loved it, it worked well, it proved that the idea would work,' Shaich said.

? ? ?

Shaich stepped down as CEO of Panera on 1 January." http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...rced-close-down.html

Shaich For President 2020!

Yeah, it's a mystery alright.

Who would have thought this was a good idea to begin with?

Oh wait, never mind.

Damn!!

If the idea worked so well why can't they afford the big investment?

He's a liar and thinks the rest of use are stupid.

This pricing scheme has an overly rosy view of human nature. Too many people are avaricious (who doesn't want to get something for nothing?) for this to have ever worked. But why close? That seems drastic. Why not abandon the pay-what-you-want and just go to fixed pricing?

I will never set foot in one of their restaurants due to their political and anti-gun beliefs. I would be satisfied if the whole chain went tits-up.

"The economics didn't make sense but it proved the idea worked." This guy definitely has a future career in politics. As a Democrat.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
I will never set foot in one of their restaurants due to their political and anti-gun beliefs. I would be satisfied if the whole chain went tits-up.

This.

The part I chuckled at was the 'average payment of 85%' of the retail price...

Like that was somehow a credit to the program.

So think about that. You know there were some lib do-gooders who overpaid to make the program succeed. So there were likely a ton of rascals paying next to nothing - just pretty much taking.

And I am not in food service but I hear the margins are pretty slim. So those particular restaurants were operating in the red getting infusions from corporate to make everyone seem like it was a great viable program.

Nothing evil about capitalism. In fact the opposite is true. They tried a half-baked socialist idea and now 'X' number of workers are out of a job because they failed to do business at market dynamics.

Oh - and I like the 'we lost 15% of our revenue but the program is working' idiot.

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quote:

Originally posted by bigwagon:
"The economics didn't make sense but it proved the idea worked." This guy definitely has a future career in politics. As a Democrat.

Could be since he's not in the restaurant business anymore.

What were they smoking 8 years ago to think this was a good idea?

The money they wasted on this doomed experiment could of been contributed to a real charity and actually helped people.

Last time I went there the soup tasted like a generic one straight from the can and the sandwich was tasteless.

But it appeals to a certain demographic. Those who are nearing brain death due to oxygen deprivation/carbon dioxide poisoning caused by global warming.

Wait. It lasted for 8 years???


I can't imagine the P&L discussions.

"For each of the 8 years we've been open, we lost money. Looks like we're going to have to close."

"I told you we should have gotten a bigger store!"

I'm hoping my local Toyota dealer adopts a pay what you want policy before I get a new truck.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:
The part I chuckled at was the 'average payment of 85%' of the retail price...

And that’s in one of the most well to do areas of the state. The goof picked that area to prove his liberal point and it didn’t even work there.

I actually go and eat at Panera as I enjoy eating some of their foods. Yes they may have anti-2nd amendment beliefs, but that does not stop me and I still carry in there when I go. God Bless

Sounds like the East German version of an American restaurant.
Since the landlords in strip centers usually get a cut of the action, they probably didn't like the idea too much.
Hard to believe the Wall Street crowd would leave that idiot in charge for that long, or put him in charge in the first place. A child with a lemonade stand could have told you what would happen.

Perhaps people misunderstand the business being discussed, leading to these derisive statements.

Panera has a small group of stores branded Panera Community Cares Cafes. These stores are typically located in low income areas or areas where there is a significant homeless population.

They don’t turn anyone away regardless of their ability to pay. You are free to pay anything you want, or nothing, for your meal. As the stores are attractive and many are in downtown city locations, they can draw quite a mix of people, both poor and affluent.

Given the above, that a given store would receive an average of 85% of the retail price of the meal is, in fact, pretty great.

I don’t think there’s anything positive about one of these stores closing, or anything about this model that is deserving of the negative comments. This isn’t a socialist experimental restaurant... it’s charity. They do a lot of good, feeding those who cannot afford to feed themselves.

quote:

Originally posted by roberth:
He's a liar and thinks the rest of use are stupid.

Well, he's not really that far off for, in my experience, a majority of the population.

quote:

'The nature of the economics did not make sense,' Shaich said.

NO FUCKING SHIT!

quote:

'We loved it, it worked well, it proved that the idea would work,' Shaich said.

Worked well?
Having to close up is not working well...