Traditional restaurants with a drive-thru remain the No. 1 focus for Panera Bread. But the all-day chain is committed to its new digital to-go prototype for urban areas where a drive-thru just won’t fit.
In the month since Panera’s first To Go store opened on Chicago’s North Side, about four miles from the next Panera, the results have been “very promising,” said Chris Correnti, the chain’s SVP of off-premise channels.
“These Panera To Gos are a very good fit for us from an urban perspective,” Correnti said. “Today, we have 86 cafes in urban locations. We think we can more than double that.”
The delivery- and takeout-focused store is about 2,500-square-feet, 2,000-square-feet smaller than a traditional Panera. And, without an ordering counter or seating area, labor needs are “multiple times less” than a standard Panera location.
“The café experience, the warmth of the fireplace, that’s still at the core of who we are,” he said. “This allows us to extend the number of trade areas.”
Currently, the first Panera To Go is operating with a reduced menu and hours, but the goal is to expand to full operations, including a breakfast menu and catering offering.
“Our intention is to get to as close to our full menu as possible,” Correnti said. “Right now, we’re testing and learning.”
Another Panera To Go is slated to open in Southern California later this summer, with one due in Washington, D.C., by the end of the year. The 2,110-unit chain is also eyeing launching To Go in New York City, he said.
“It’s helping us fill the gap in terms of café format options,” he said. “It’s allowing us to get into trade areas where we typically couldn’t be. For us, it’s a great in-fill strategy.”
The To Go idea was born last year, he said, after witnessing Panera’s tremendous uptick in off-premise sales during the pandemic.
The chain went from having very little delivery business before 2020, to seeing more than 81% of its sales go through off-premise channels by the end of last year. Delivery sales tripled.
Panera also operates five ghost kitchens, with more planned. Forty-four percent of the chain’s locations currently have drive-thrus.
“The pandemic just reinforced that this was the right path for us to go down,” Correnti said. “Off-premise is here to stay.”
Since the pandemic, a number of limited-service chains have created new prototypes focused on off-premise sales.
Taco Bell recently debuted its new “Defy” prototype that has no indoor seating but does include four drive-thru lanes and a vertical lift system for orders.
Portillo’s has said it is seeing very strong early results from its drive-thru-only restaurant, which might influence the chain’s future development. And brands including Schlotzsky’s, Wingstop, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Jimmy John’s and Tim Hortons have either opened or plan to open restaurants without any seating.