Nature of Business

12 Months Ended

Dec. 27, 2016

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, 2016, retail operations consisted of 902 Company-owned bakery-cafes and 1,134 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, pasta dishes, 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. In addition to the in-bakery-cafe dining experience, the Company offers Panera Catering, a nation-wide catering service that provides breakfast assortments, sandwiches, salads, soups, pasta dishes, drinks, and bakery items using the same high-quality, fresh ingredients enjoyed in bakery-cafes. As of December 27, 2016, 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.