ST. LOUIS – The Bread Co. signs aren’t disappearing from St. Louis City and County, but you may start noticing more Panera signs popping up around the metro area.
St. Louisians are proud of the hometown bakery-cafes and the St. Louis Bread Company name that goes along with it. That is why there has been some strong reaction in the community when Panera signs were spotted at some of the chain’s locations in St. Charles County.
A Panera spokesperson told Spectrum News that all the bakery-cafes currently in St. Louis City and County “are proudly remaining St. Louis Bread Co. locations.” Also, any new locations or builds in the County and City will also bear the St. Louis Bread Co. name.
For stores outside St. Louis City and County, the company says those locations will get a name change as part of a rebrand during the remodeling process. Our Spectrum News staff spotted a Panera Bread sign at the location off Zumbehl Road in St. Charles Thursday morning. We also found a sign off of Mid Rivers Mall Drive in St. Peters at the 94 Crossing. You could see where the old sign was replaced with a new one.
A Ballwin store which is the location of the company’s very first “Next Generation” bakery-cafe bears the Panera name. The company says it wanted the opening to be in its hometown to celebrate the founding market and used the Panera signage it expects to use during a nationwide rollout.