Panera Experiment

Panera Bread’s pay-what-you-can experiment at a St. Louis cafe is leaving some patrons both skeptical and baffled, reports Stephanie Strom in the New York Times (5/21/10). The concept is not a Panera restaurant but Panera donates the food, customers determine the prices and any profit goes to charity. To some, this is a mind-bender. "I don’t have the foggiest idea of where the money’s going," says David Eisenbraun, who left just $15 for a meal worth $24.95. He adds: "Are they in it for the good press?"

Hrmph. Some gratitude. Some good press! But Panera chairman Ron Shaich thinks the idea of letting people pay what they can for meals is worth a shot. "It’s a test of human nature," he says. "The real question is whether the community can sustain it." That question was answered with a resounding "no" at Terra Bite Lounge which abandoned a similar format because the neighborhood was heavily populated by teen eaters, who apparently took unfair advantage of the cheap eats. Other such restaurants have simply given up.

However, One World Everybody Eats has survived by asking everyone to pay at least "$4 for a meat or fish entree." It also swapped out its open money basket for a lockbox, but gives away "about 15-20 of the roughly 60 meals it serves each day … to needy customers, some of whom wash windows, sweep or break down boxes for an hour or so in return." Giovanni Bouderbala, One World’s head chef and director says that when this works, it’s great: "They leave here with a full stomach and feeling like they earned their meal, which is the idea."