Panera Breaks Bread in St. Louis
USA Today’s Bruce Horovitz reported recently on the opening of Panera’s new non-profit cafe in a suburb of St. Louis.
The community-building concept is the brainchild of Ronald Shaich, who stepped down as CEO of the company to pursue this new social entrepreneurial vision and expand it nationally.
Upon entering Saint Louis Bread Company Cares, customers are asked to “take what you need, leave your fair share.” There are no cash registers, just a donation box. The hope is that some of the more affluent customers will contribute more than the suggested price of their order, which would allow the store to meet the needs of customers who don’t have the means to pay full price. Even the guests who are unable to pay are invited to do volunteer work and give back to the store.
I’m pulling for this project. I hope it’s as sustainable and scalable as Shaich’s plans suggest.
I know other restaurants have tried similar “pay what you can” models with varying degrees of success, but I think Shaich’s business acumen and strong purpose motive will be the difference makers.
You can tell Shaich believes deeply in his new mission. He describes the project as the company’s “community work” and as an experiment of “mutual responsibility.”
This an exciting social message (progressive, in the best sense of the word) for a rapidly growing (and therefore, increasingly influential) restaurant chain.
-Matthew DiGirolamo, Cause Catalysts
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