Panera Bread’s latest pay-what-you-can experiment will be retooled and brought back next winter as a seasonal offering rather than a permanent one, the chain’s founder says.
The Meal of Shared Responsibility was pulled Wednesday. Since late March, Panera had offered a single menu item, Turkey Chili in a Bread Bowl, at its 48 St. Louis-area restaurants. Customers set their own price for the purchase, though the suggested retail price (tax included) was $5.89.
The idea was that the needy could get a nutritious 850-calorie meal for whatever they could afford to pay, while those who pay above the company’s cost make up the difference.
