Panera Bread

St. Louis – Panera Bread Co. has named Drew Madsen president, effective May 11. He will report to Ron Shaich, chairman and CEO, and oversee the core café business, while Shaich focuses on strategy, growth initiatives and innovation across the company.

Madsen served as president and COO of Darden Restaurants Inc. He also previously served as president of Darden's Olive Garden chain and was Olive Garden's executive VP of marketing prior to that.

Mixed-use projects have become a consumer home base

The concept of a shopping center as a place where people simply show up to make a few purchases and leave is becoming passé. Increasingly, developers are building mixed-use centers that include residential, office and entertainment components, which turn them more into a consumer home base and less of a functional destination.

New York -- Panera Bread would like its customers to leave their guns at home. The bakery-cafe chain joined a handful of other high-profile retailers, including Starbucks, Chipotle, and Target, to make the request.  

Retailers employing variety of solutions to reinvent the checkout

The store is generally considered to represent the “last mile” of the retail supply chain. In recent years, retailers have focused on making this final, crucial step as easy and convenient for customers as possible.

Gordon Brothers Group, a global advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in the retail, consumer products, industrial and real estate sectors, has appointed Michael P. Muldowney as CFO. Muldowney also serve as a member of the executive committee.
 
Prior to joining Gordon Brothers Group, Muldowney was the founder and CEO of Foxford Capital, a strategic, financial advisory and investment management firm. Prior to this role, he served as interim CEO, EVP and CFO of global education leader, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

St. Louis - Panera Bread has unveiled a series of integrated technologies to enhance the customer experience at its restaurants. The new “Panera 2.0” initiative brings together new capabilities for digital ordering, payment, operations and consumption for patrons who choose to eat in as well as for those who order to go. In test for several years, the solution is now live in 14 of the chain’s locations and is slated to be deployed in nearly all locations over the next 36 months.

Pooler, Ga. — With the addition of seven new leases, GBT Realty Corporation’s Village on Pooler Parkway is 95% leased months before its scheduled opening in the first quarter of next year. Anchored by T.J.Maxx, Ross Dress for Less, Michaels and PetSmart, the 143,000-sq.-ft. development has now added Kirkland’s, Hibbett Sports, Visionworks, Legacy Nails, Sprint, GNC and Kay Jewelers to the mix.

Pooler, Ga. — The Olive Garden, Panera Bread, Moe’s Southwest Grill, Jersey Mikes Subs and Jalapenos Mexican Grill have all inked deals with GBT Realty Corporation for space in Village on Pooler Parkway, a 143,000-sq.-ft. shopping center now under development in Pooler, Ga.

The Panera shop will occupy a freestanding building with a drive-through, making it one of the first locations in the market to feature Panera’s new prototype.

St. Louis -- Panera Bread Company on Tuesday said that chairman and co-CEO Ron Shaich will once again serve as the company's sole CEO starting on Aug. 1. Bill Moreton, who currently serves as co-CEO and president, plans to transition to an executive vice chairman role in order to spend more time on a family matter.

Moreton commented: "As a result of this family matter, I have found myself unable to travel and am now clear I will be challenged to fully execute my responsibilities as president and Co-CEO of Panera Bread.”

St. Louis -- Panera Bread Company announced that Roger C. Matthews, Jr., has been appointed Panera's EVP and CFO, effective March 18.

Matthews most recently served as managing director and sector head of the U.S. Restaurant Industry in Goldman Sachs' Investment Banking Division.

Pat Kelly, who has served as Panera's Interim CFO since April 2012, will remain in place until the end of March to ensure a smooth transition.