First a warning to my OS family and community.  This is not a rant or a b*#ch session.  Not a what is wrong with the government, politics, politicians, celebrities or you piece.  This is the best thing I have heard in a while and whatever their deep down reasons are for doing this I am applauding Panera and their newest non-profit store.  Yes, I said NON-PROFIT store. 

So, what does that mean?  This is a store where there are no prices listed for anything and no taxes (as it is non-profit) and you decide how much, or how little, you are going to pay.  This new store is now open Clayton, Missouri, an upscale suburb of St. Louis.  Panera is a national bakery and restaurant chain with 1400 locations.  The menu at the new non-profit store is exactly the same as the other 1400 locations, the only difference being that the customer pays what ever they can and feel is fair in a donation jar.

The pilot store is run by a non-profit organization and Panera is using it’s non-profit organization to support the store by paying the “restaurant's bills, including staff salaries, rent and food costs. At the end of each month, the foundation will tally donations to see if they cover food costs. The Panera parent company won't bear losses if the experiment fails.”[1]  If on the other hand it is a success, Panera will open more with an eye to opening a non-profit in each of the markets they are now in.

“There are other such operations including one, I am proud to say, in Salt Lake City. The One World Salt Lake City restaurant has operated as a nonprofit with pay-what-you-want prices since 2003, said founder Denise Cerreta. She works for a foundation that helps similar restaurants open around the county. She said the places don't get swarmed by crowds and emptied, but have managed to stay afloat based on the honor system.”

"It somehow stays in balance," Cerreta said. "I think ultimately people are good. They want to contribute."^[2]

Why are they doing this?  Is it a publicity stunt?  An advertising gimmick?  I don’t know and I don’t care if it is just for advertising and publicity.  It is a good thing and I hope anyone in the Clayton, MO area will make a point to support it.