Panera Bread/Saint Louis Bread Company vs Great Canadian Bagel Franchise Comparison

After more than 17 years in the retail industry, Ken Rosenthal changed gears and founded Saint Louis Bread Co. in 1987. His goal was to create a neighborhood bakery where people could pick up fresh-baked bread, meals and snacks. In 1993, Rosenthal sold Saint Louis Bread to Au Bon Pain Co. Six years later, the company was renamed Panera Bread. The future growth of Panera Bread will be based upon company bakery-cafe development as well as the continued sale of franchise area development agreements. Panera Bread does not sell single-unit franchises, so it is not possible to open just one bakery-cafe. Rather, we have chosen to develop by selling market areas which require the franchise developer to open a number of units, typically 15 bakery-cafes in a period of 6 years. Panera Bread franchises must be well-capitalized to open great bakery-cafes and meet this aggressive development schedule. Additionally, they must have a proven track record as excellent multi-unit restaurant operators to operate great Panera Bread bakery-cafes.

In April, 1993 "The Great Canadian Bagel, Ltd." began operations with an initial store in Metropolitan Toronto. Featuring 24 varieties of fresh baked bagels, 21 flavours of cream cheese spreads and a selection of soups, salads, and made-to-order sandwiches, the store was an immediate success.

At The Great Canadian Bagel all bagels are baked fresh from recipes calling for only the finest natural ingredients with no preservatives. The majority of stores are equipped with an on-premise bakery enabling customers to watch the bagels being made and smell the aroma as they are taken from the oven. This combination of high quality product, attractive store atmosphere and their constant focus on providing the highest level of customer service all work together to set The Great Canadian Bagel a notch above the competition in the fast growing Bagel segment of the Foodservice market.