Panera Bread/Saint Louis Bread Company vs Lee's Sandwiches 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.

Behind every great American entrepreneurial success story stands a united family. The Lee Family in San Jose is one such example of hard-working Americans that have built a thriving restaurant and food service business. In 2001, the family created a new concept: a mixture of bright, energetic restaurant sandwich environment, entertainment cafe and Asian-American cuisine. In addition to the traditional Vietnamese ''banh mi'' sandwiches, there are traditional American sandwiches such as ham and cheese served on baguettes or croissants.

Lee’s Sandwiches began opening locations in Northern California, Southern California, Arizona, Texas and Oklahoma. Today, Lee’s Sandwiches has over sixty locations all across the country with further plans to expand.