It's Panera, but slow. Staff was trying their best but like everywhere else management needs to hire more people or better plan operations around capacity.We ordered for a 1220 pickup and our food was not ready till just past 1. Nobody apologized or came out or anything.
On our first visit to the new Apple Valley location we were happy with our experience. The cashier Ian was very friendly and helpful, we made sure to take advantage of their drink and dessert specials with a purchase.My wife ordered as ordered the [thai chicken] soup and [sesame chicken] salad combo, I ordered the bacon turkey bravo plus chicken and wild rice soup, and my sons orderes the grilled cheese / mac & cheese sandwich and bbq chicken sandwich [each with chip and drink with the youngest getting a cookie]. The portions were very sizable and we left full!I really am a fan of their charged lemonaids, having tried the strawberry mint, fuji apple cranberry, I wasnt too much of a fan of those but settled on a mix of the agave lemonaid + mango yuzu citrus - yum!The atmosphere of the restaurant, the food options, and the service were all excellent, and ill definitely return many more times in the future.
I ordered for rapid pickup but it’s far from rapid. The staff in back are completely flustered and over worked, the drive through lane is blocked off so you end up sitting at the window until you get noticed by someone to get your order. By the time someone came to the window I’d already been waiting at the window for 7 minutes. I was then told my order was not going to be ready for “a long while since we are very understaffed”. I do not blame the staff for this and the worker I talked to (Millie :) ) was very apologetic about the situation. Still wasn’t the fastest experience, and DO NOT recommend going through the drive through ever!
We've gone to this location twice now. First time, they gave me wrong order but with my correct name. I didn't check it until I got to my destination. Called and manager said they'd send me some coupons...I never received them. Today, placed an order at 6pm for rapid pickup. Waited until 650 but then gave up and asked for a refund. The person who helped didn't seem bothered or even slightly disappointed. Instead, we went to local sandwich shop. Order was fast and 100 percent accurate and they thanked me for my purchase.
Visited Panera Bread in Apple Valley and waited an hour for our food since ordering. We received our food after an hour and the soup order was completely wrong. We also did not receive a french baguette or a side salad that we ordered. Extremely unhappy and will not be going back.
Had the worst experience last night with my family at the Apple Valley Panera location. Waited at the counter for 10 minutes to be approached by an employee with AirPods in and took one out to answer my question if we could order at the counter. She barely spoke but pointed us to the self help kiosks. We proceed to order, no salads, no avocado, no baguette. Really, I’m in the food business and sell these products daily, supplies are available if you order them and plan accordingly. Further more, you have baguette unsliced in the bakery. Let’s think outside the box and take care of customers. We waited for our order that got left in the window with no buzzer activated all while Ms. Personality vacuumed around our table the entire meal. We watched people come in the door and walk out due to lack of service and product selection. HUGE MISS PANERA!! For a new location, you are missing the mark big time. Ironically, you have a sign at the front counter that states your looking for smiling faces to hire, how about training the ones you have 1st and it might attract people you’re looking for. $37.00 would have been better spent next door at Chick-fil-A where you get the respect and attention customers deserve. “My pleasure” is often heard at their establishment, you may want to learn from your neighbors. 1 out of 5 at best.
I really want to like this place. I enjoy Panera food, I like the new building and atmosphere, but the service is just so incredibly slow. At peak times I’ve waited 40 minutes, and the staff looks desperately overworked. I really hope management can figure out a way to streamline here, it has such potential but fails to meet expectations.
The new location was very nice and looked great. They were out of many things while we attempted to order including several different breads, cookies, and some soups and pastas. Most everyone was having a hard time ordering and/or having to choose something different.
Horrible Panera. You’d think after building a new building, they’d have an efficient system. But nope. If you order ahead on the app for drive through pickup, add about 10 minutes to their estimated ready time before the food will be ready. Then, add another 15 minutes of time to sit in the drive through line. So inefficient.Then, once you have your food, never EVER drive away without checking each item. 75% of the time they forget something, or mess something up. Just this last time, they gave us only 2 of the 4 sandwiches we ordered. That’s pretty poor.If there was another location near our house, we’d go there every time over this train wreck.
Love the new location. Spacious, cozy, and a great place to get some work done. I mainly come here for the bagels and sandwiches Panera offers, and it's right for me every time.