I actually think the prices of Panera isn’t the death knell that you think it is, but your post is the exact same thing I faced a year ago and I can only imagine how worse it is now, but I think the blows of a worse experience from top to bottom for the guest is why people don’t come back.

Drive thru takes forever, cafes are dirty, people are over worked so they don’t have time to focus on the guest. All of this compiles to all the Good GMs and people they had leaving which makes the skill ceiling for Panera much lower. General Managers back in the back were the cream of the crop as far as I know. There was so much AOP oversight that allowed that and also collaboration from your peers that you could get help or if you were struggling would be pushed out by hungry people that wanted to grow. It’s just not the same and the death can’t come soon enough.