This was my first visit to a Panera in a couple of years. It was always a favorite of mine, as franchise restaurants go. I went to Panera many times while living in Chicago. One usually (if you can believe the ad claims) did not have to worry about the freshness or sources of their menu items. And overall, except for all the self-service bumping into others and clumsiness of getting your food to the table, a pretty pleasant all around lunch experience. Good choice of delicious baked goods and creative tasty sandwiches.
The thing I noticed at this location was the "hybrid" self-service had been adopted where you order at the counter, and your order is delivered by staff to your table. So that does help a bit with the traffic problem.The biggest problem I had was the quality of the orders. I ordered a Noodle Bowl ($9.00) and my companion ordered a 1/2 panini and cup of soup. My noodle bowl was a sad excuse for a noodle bowl, and definitely not worth the ten bucks or so. My friend's sandwich was almost completely lacking in contents, such as chicken or veggies as advertised. It just looked like they adapted some corporate cost-saving program, or maybe and adaptation of the Greek government's austerity program. But I left with some remaining noodle longing, and full of mostly broth.
I would come back here for the baked goods or maybe to take out some Cheese and Broccoli soup, but not for a sit down meal. I'd rather in this case patronize the other local spots for sandwiches or soup, or Noodle Bowls. Panera just seems like it's no longer a good value.