When you hear someone say Panera Bread, what images come to mind? Cuddling up with a book, a bagel and a delicious drink? Enjoying a refreshing lunch with your friends? A night out with the girls with lots of desserts to enjoy? Whatever image may come to mind, now there is one more to add…
A drive-thru! Easy access to breakfast, lunch, dinner or just a yummy snack without leaving your car is now a reality. The Panera Bread at 3321 NW Expressway has added one at this location! It is directly across from Integris Hospital and makes it so easy to pick up a dozen bagels to take to your friend that just a baby or grab a picnic lunch to take to Lake Hefner. Oh, the possibilities are endless!
Yum!
As soon as I found out the news that they opened a drive thru, I immediately headed over to try it out. With a full size color menu depicting their delectables, it took me longer to decide what to get than it took them to process my order and put it in my hand.
My kids settled on their personal Panera favorites – macaroni & cheese, grilled cheese sandwich, organic yogurt and a cinnamon roll for dessert! I, however, ventured away from my favorite Frontega Chicken Panini and Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup and tried their new Flatbread Sandwiches. It was too hard to choose just one, so I didn’t. The BBQ Chicken Flatbread was my favorite…it was the perfect blend of sweet and bold. The Mediterranean Chicken Flatbread was delicious too.
Why I Love Panera Bread
Panera Bread is literally one of my family’s favorite eateries for two main reasons:
1 – As a mom, who strives to make healthy food choices, I truly appreciate the fact that their food is preservative free, their chicken is antibiotic free and their creamy smoothies are made with organic yogurt. They also use organic American cheese on their grilled cheese sandwiches and provide an organic yogurt dessert option as well as organic milk & organic apple juice! It is difficult to find such a health-friendly feeding option on the go, so I am thankful I can get a yummy meal whenever I don’t feel like cooking and my kids are too cranky to haul out of the car.
Their ingredient list for each menu item is also easy to access either online or at the store.
2 – They truly serve the community. At the end of each day, they fill sacks with unsold bread and bagels to give to those who might not have been able to eat otherwise. They call it the ‘Day-End-Dough-Nation.” Their website states that “collectively, Panera bakery-cafes donated a retail value of approximately $100 million worth of unsold bread and baked goods in 2012 to help fight food insecurity.” I am thankful for Panera Bread’s willingness to not only serve and care about those who walk in with money, but the community as a whole as well. It’s something I teach my children as well.
With the addition of the drive thru, this location now joins three others in the OKC metro that offers this wonderful convenience for those moments when we want to enjoy Panera Bread, but don’t have the time to pop in and enjoy their great atmosphere.
What is your favorite Panera Bread menu item?
Have you picked anything up through the drive thru yet?
**Disclosure – This was a sponsored post for Panera Bread. Kristi received a gift certificate to try out their new drive-thru location for writing this post. However, we stand behind the businesses we endorse on Oklahoma City Moms Blog. All opinions are 100% our own.**
