Last week, I walked into Dunkin’ to pick up my Salted Caramel Cold Brew that I purchased in the app. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get it. Instead, the employees asked if I wanted the Pumpkin Cold Brew because they no longer had salted caramel. Was I sad about it? Kind of. Did I still take the Pumpkin Cold Brew? Of course. It’s just knowing that my go-to order was no longer there. I had a similar feeling while reading The Takeout’s article on Panera Bread’s menu shrinking. I had to know if my favorite sandwich and soup (it’s the Chipotle Chicken Avocado Melt and tomato soup, in case you were wondering) were on the chopping block. I took to the internet to find out: Is Panera Bread shrinking its menu?
According to Restaurant Business, “Panera Bread is testing a smaller menu at some locations to boost speed and ease operations.” The thing is, Panera isn’t just cutting out a few items – around 50 items might be discontinued, according to a Reddit thread posted by an alleged Panera employee.
What items is Panera Bread taking off the menu?
The list ranges from sandwiches and soups to drinks to bakery items plus the entire kids' menu (omg???). Here are some notables:
The Smokehouse BBQ Chicken Sandwich
The Bistro French Onion Soup
ALL of the flatbread pizzas, which were introduced in 2020
Four types of bread (Classic Sourdough, White Whole Grain Loaf, Asiago Focaccia, and Brioche Roll)
Five specialty drink options (the Chocolate Latte, cold brews, hot chocolate, and the mango smoothie)
Pumpkin Muffin - which I find to be a bit weird considering ‘tis the season of the pumpkin.
However, this isn’t a definite thing…yet. This shrunken menu is only a test happening in select locations. Panera’s current menu is no the Cheesecake-Factory-long-menu, but the options do feel endless at the casual establishment.