Panera Bread

Staff has always been courteous and friendly.  The cobblestone is the bomb!

You've seen one Panera, you've seen them all.  I remember when "Panera" was only called "St Louis Bread Company."  When one came to suburban Chicago in 1995 or so, it was a breath of fresh air in the semi-fast food scene.  Pumpkin muffins all year round-----wow!

I'm glad it's around all these years later.  However, the novelty has long worn off.  It's still a dependable place, don't get me wrong.  I'm sure I get something from there, either at home or work, once a week.  But, the thrill is gone.

This Panera in Collinsville holds no surprises, either way.

I'm giving  them 2 stars, instead of 4-5, because the management needs to act quickly on a problem which can directly impact their business negatively if not addressed. (The food and service are great, BTW).
A group of us agreed to gather for a meet & greet here for breakfast on a Saturday morning. 4 cars came, more might have left due to...no parking spaces left. Let me explain.
When I arrived,  around 8:45, I quickly noticed only 2 non-handicapped parking places left and those two were too cramped for my car to park (adjacent cars parked crooked). At first this didn't surprise me as the Edwardsville location is always full on Saturday morning. Anyway, I almost left but one of our party came walking out to our car and told me to park in the back. I drove around to the back where he was parked and we directed 2 more cars to park back there until it was full.
When I went inside, I was shocked to see the place less than half full! Plenty of tables and no wait to order. On a Saturday morning? As I mused out-loud as to this conundrum, a patron told me that many of the cars parked out front were NOT customers but car-poolers riding to St. Louis. This patron also said that she had mentioned it to the manager in the past but the manager said "There is nothing I can do about it."
Seriously? You will let non-customers take up spaces and drive away potential paying customers because you don't want to hurt their feelings? I doubt we'll plan a meeting here again.
Note to Manager: Take action!
PS - I almost couldn't find this listing because first reviewer listed it as Panera. Message sent to Yelp to change this. (Yes, I know it is Panera elsewhere but not this location or any in St. Louis).