Panera Reveals Next-Generation Bakery-Cafe Design

Panera gives an idea at how their locations will look in the future with a reveal of their next-generation bakery-cafe design.

Citing the company's forecast of both dine-in and takeout/delivery growth, the new restaurant design features:

- "Craft Bakery Experience" - The new design sees the ovens moved to be in full view of the customers so you can see the baking that goes on throughout the day

- "Dual-Drive Thru with Dedicated Rapid Pick-Up Lane" - Panera looks to  "significantly increase"  locations with drive-thru service and the new design comes with a double-lane drive thru, with one of the lane dedicated specifically for order-ahead pick-ups (their "Rapid Pick-Up" option).

- "Enhanced Digital Experience" - The new design increases digital features, including contactless dine-in and delivery, updated ordering kiosks, automatic loyalty identification, and a fully-digital menu both in-cafe and at the drive-thru.

- "Contactless Ordering" - This service continues from last year and lets you for dine-in, Rapid Pick-Up, drive-thru, or delivery through your phone, which will also notify you when your food is ready.

- "Intuitive Guest Journey" - The new design is meant to make it so you can quickly determine where to go to order and pick-up your food as well as "refining" the flow of customers through the cafe.

The first next-generation Panera bakery-cafe is set to open this November in Ballwin, MO.

Photo via Panera.