Restaurant Chain With More Than 100 PA Locations Revamping Menu

PENNSYLVANIA — A national restaurant chain with 115 Pennsylvania locations said this week it plans to improve customer experiences via menu modifications as well as remodeling some of its older locations.

Panera Bread has unveiled what it termed a "transformative strategy" it has labeled Panera RISE. The turnaround strategy is designed to reverse years of traffic declines. Once the nation's top fast-casual chain, Panera has slipped to number three behind Chipotle and Panda Express.

The strategy is built on the following four-point foundation:

• Refreshing the menu.

• Igniting value on those items.

• Improved customer service.

• Expanding the Panera network.

"Panera RISE is a momentum driver, grounded in the areas of differentiation that have made Panera an iconic brand for nearly 40 years,” Panera CEO Paul Carbone said in a statement. "As we transform our business, we are investing in four strategic pillars that put the guest at the very center of everything we do.”

What does that mean exactly? Well, Panera last year switched from romaine lettuce to cheaper iceberg lettuce for its salads. That's a change that is about to be reversed.

“You know what guests told us?” Carbone said in an interview with Inc. “No one likes iceberg, and no one gets that and says, ‘Oh my God, that white salad, it looks so appetizing.'”

The number of salad toppings will be increased from five to eight, and avocado halves and cherry tomatoes will be sliced - not whole - beginning early next year.

Panera also is introducing fruit drinks called frescas and lower-caffeine beverages called energy refreshers.

Panera also plans to invest more in employee staffing. In recent years, the chain increasingly has relied on self-order kiosks. While that saved money, customers frequently entered a cafe and couldn't locate a worker, Carbone told CNBC. He vowed that more emphasis would be placed on actual employees, while the kiosks that are in use will be modernized.

Older Panera locations will be refreshed, Carbone said.

Once the first three goals of Panera Rise are accomplished, the company will focus on expansion plans. As of October, Panera has more than 2,200 bakery-cafes in 48 states, Washington D.C. and Ontario, Canada.

According to the Panera website, the company currently has 115 locations in Pennsylvania:

• Allentown (3)

• Allison Park (1)

• Altoona (1)

• Audubon (1)

• Bensalem (1)

• Bethel Park (1)

• Bethlehem (1)

• Bloomsburg (1)

• Bridgeville (1)

• Broomall (1)

• Butler (1)

• Camp Hill (2)

• Carlisle (1)

• Chambersburg (1)

• Clarion (1)

• Collegeville (1)

• Conshohocken (1)

• Cranberry Township (1)

• Dickson City (1)

• Doylestown (1)

• Easton (2)

• Ephrata (1)

• Erie (4)

• Exton (1)

• Feasterville (1)

• Gettysburg (1)

• Greensburg (2)

• Hanover (1)

• Harrisburg (3)

• Havertown (1)

• Hazleton (1)

• Hermitage (1)

• Hummelstown (1)

• Jenkintown (1)

• Johnstown (1)

• King of Prussia (1)

• Lancaster (3)

• Lebanon (1)

• Levittown (1)

• Lewisburg (1)

• McMurray (1)

• Mechanicsburg (1)

• Media (1)

• Monaca (1)

• Monroeville (1)

• Moon Township (1)

• Moosic (1)

• Mount Lebanon (1)

• Murrysville (1)

• Norristown (1)

• North Huntingdon (1)

• North Wales (1)

• Oakmont (1)

• Philadelphia (6)

• Pittsburg (1)

• Pittsburgh (11)

• Pleasant Hills (1)

• Pottstown (1)

• Quakertown (1)

• Reading (2)

• Ross Township (1)

• Selinsgrove (1)

• Shrewsbury (1)

• Springfield (1)

• State College (2)

• Stroudsburg (1)

• Tarentum (1)

• Temple (1)

• Uniontown (1)

• University Park (3)

• Warrington (1)

• Washington (1)

• Wayne (1)

• West Chester (1)

• West Homestead (1)

• Wexford (1)

• Whitehall (1)

• Wilkes Barre (1)

• Williamsport (1)

• Willow Grove (1)

• Wynnewood (1)

• York (3)