PAY WHAT YOU CAN- Panera Bread, a restaurant chain that gives back and succeeds.

Posted by on 9/15/11 • Categorized as Eating Green • • Print This Post Print This Post

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ron Shaich, the founder and chairman of Panera Bread, has sculpted his company into one of the most successful small restaurant chains in the country. He’s also done something no other chain has done before.By creating a unique, pay-what-you-can model at three “Panera Cares” cafes around the country — and more are coming soon — he has proven an idea that seems revolutionary for a large corporation, but is actually very simple: trust people; they’ll often surprise you.

A few years ago, he was watching a news segment about the Same Cafe in Denver, Colorado.

“It was this community cafe without prices. You just paid whatever you could,” Ron said. “I remember turning to my wife that night and just saying, ‘We could do that.’”

Ron and his kids had volunteered at food banks before, and he knew he’d want his cafe to be brighter, more positive. At a time when close to 50 million Americans, according to FeedingAmerica.org, are living in “food insecure households,” the idea of creating a welcoming place was most appealing to him.

“I thought, if we do this, we’re going to give it the full Panera menu. We’ve got to create a place with better energy, where people feel happy to be there.”

The first Panera Cares cafe opened just outside of St. Louis, Missouri. Ron ran the restaurant himself for its first month; he created a self-sustainable business model and registered the organization as a non-profit. Customers were greeted at the door and told they could leave anything they wanted in exchange for fresh soups and sandwiches. There was a donation box by the counter.

“It worked,” Ron said. “20 percent would leave more than the suggested donation, 60 percent would leave the suggested amount, and 20 percent would leave less.”

Ron says that restaurant, as well as the two other Panera Cares locations — in Detroit, Michigan and Portland, Oregon — have reported revenues in excess of their costs. The extra money goes into an employment program, which, Ron says, trains at-risk youth to become Panera employees.

“We developed a program to take some of these kids no one else would hire and give them job skills,” Ron said. “They’re working in our cafes now.”

Panera plans to open a new Panera Cares location every four months in the next year, and the company will serve at least half a million meals through the program. Ron says more locations will be established as long as his model continues to work.

 

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