Panera Bread closes the last of its pay-what-you-can cafes nine years after launching the experiment

  • The last remaining Panera Cares location in Boston will close permanently Friday
  • Panera released a statement saying the donation-based model was not viable 
  • The first Panera Cares cafe offering meals at a suggested price opened in Clayton, Missouri, in 2010 
  • At the program's peak there were five locations in Chicago; Dearborn, Michigan; Portland, Oregon; and Boston - but all eventually closed

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and MEGAN SHEETS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: | Updated:

Panera Bread is closing the last of its nonprofit cafes that let customers pay what they wished nine years after launching the experimental locations.

The company says its final Panera Cares location in Boston will close Friday after six years, and that it is helping employees find jobs at other locations.

Panera opened its first donation-based community cafe in Clayton, Missouri, in 2010. The model aimed to raise awareness about food insecurity by offering meals at a suggested donation price. 

'In many ways, this whole experiment is ultimately a test of humanity,' Panera founder Ron Shaich said in a TEDx talk later that year. 

'Would people pay for it? Would people come in and value it?' he asked. 

The answer, it seems, is no.  

Panera Bread is closing the last of its experimental cafes that let customers pay what they want, nine years after launching the experimental stores where patrons can pay what they wish 

Panera Bread is closing its last remaining Panera Cares location in Boston (above), nine years after launching the experimental stores where patrons could pay what they wish 

At the program's peak there were a total of five Panera Cares locations in Chicago; Dearborn, Michigan; Portland, Oregon; and Boston. All eventually closed. 

Patrons of the restaurants had complained of feeling like they were being shamed when unable to pay the full suggested donation amount. 

Though the stores were intended to be self-sufficient, the company revealed in 2013 that Panera Cares stores made 70 to 80 percent of the revenue that traditional stores did. 

Luxembourg-based investment firm JAB Holding Co, which bought Panera in 2017, said in a statement: 'Despite our commitment to this mission, it’s become clear that continued operation of the Boston Panera Cares is no longer viable.

'We’re working with the current bakery-cafe associates affected by the closure to identify alternate employment opportunities within Panera and Au Bon Pain.'

Shaich stepped down as CEO in January 2018, around the same time that the flagship Panera Cares location closed its doors. 

At the time, Shaich told the St Louis Post-Dispatch all the Panera Cares restaurants combined served roughly 2 million meals during their operation, but 'the nature of the economics did not make sense'.  

At the program's peak there were a total of five Panera Cares locations in Chicago; Dearborn, Michigan; Portland, Oregon; and Boston (above). All eventually closed. A spokesman for the company said that the stores were not financially viable 

At the program's peak there were a total of five Panera Cares locations in Chicago; Dearborn, Michigan; Portland, Oregon; and Boston (above). All eventually closed. A spokesman for the company said that the stores were not financially viable 

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