Nature of Business

12 Months Ended

Dec. 27, 2011

Policy Text Block [Abstract]

Nature of Operations [Text Block]

Nature of Business

Panera Bread Company and its subsidiaries (the "Company") operate a retail bakery-cafe business and franchising business under the concept names Panera Bread^®, Saint Louis Bread Co.^®, and Paradise Bakery & Café^®. As of December 27, 2011, the Company’s retail operations consisted of 740 Company-owned bakery-cafes and 801 franchise-operated bakery-cafes. The Company specializes in meeting consumer dining needs by providing high quality food, including the following: fresh baked goods, made-to-order sandwiches on freshly baked breads, soups, salads, and cafe beverages, and targets urban and suburban dwellers and workers by offering a premium specialty bakery-cafe experience with a neighborhood emphasis. Bakery-cafes are located in urban, suburban, strip mall, and regional mall locations and currently operate in the United States and Canada. Bakery-cafes use fresh dough for their artisan and sourdough breads and bagels. As of December 27, 2011, the Company’s fresh dough and other product operations, which supply fresh dough, produce, tuna, and cream cheese items daily to most Company-owned and franchise-operated bakery-cafes, consisted of 22 Company-owned and two franchise-operated fresh dough facilities.