Savannah's Newest Panera Bread

It seems that people either hate it or love it, but we all know it. Panera Bread is a huge bakery-café franchise that serves and caters from a surprisingly nutritious menu. You can also buy your favorite coffee beans, dressings, or other ingredients that are used at Panera for your own kitchen.

While Savannah is a rapidly growing and developing city, it only has two Panera Bread locations, the newest of which recently opened at the corner of Broughton and Bull--right across from the east coast's top-grossing Starbucks. This was definitely a smart move on the franchise owner's part--this Panera has a constant flow of customers throughout the entire day, with at least one rush seeming to hit every time I've been there. The downside to it? One of the busiest bus stops in the city is located right at that corner. Fortunately, it is on the side and not in front of the entrance, and the windows on that side are completely frosted.

Being a new location, all the bugs haven't been worked out quite yet. A few weeks ago the air conditioner went out. During my next visit my order had to be fixed twice and my roommate's had to be fixed once during the visit after that. When I first ordered from the bakery one of my pasties tasted soapy, and the last time I ordered my cinnamon crunch bagels tasted oniony.

They do try to stay on top of things, though--the air conditioner was fixed as soon as possible, and all the employees (many of whom are SCAD students) are friendly and offer as many options as they can to provide a most enjoyable meal. Someone always offers to help me when I'm trying to figure out what I want, and managers always double check to make sure everyone is being helped.

Being located where it is, the clientèle is extremely varied. Business-people, college students, high school students, and SCAD employees make up the vast majority of customers, but people from all other walks of life also visit Panera for a bite to eat.

If you're walking around downtown, I definitely advise stopping at Panera for a snack or a meal. The people are nice, the place is clean, and the Wi-Fi is free. And while they haven't completely gotten the hang of it, they try really hard to get the food right. Show them some support or, if you're near the Oglethorpe Mall, stop by the Abercorn location.