Panera Bread at the Ren Cen

[softailrider]

I hate to be Mr. Negative but that's a crappy location for 99.9% of us. I'm not going to park my car, walk through a maze, give a blood sample to security to eat there. How about anyplace other then that place, it sure doesn't work for me.

[mkd]

Link: http://www.freep.com/story/entertain...ncen/30195717/

[Zacha341]

Yeah that's beyond the hour most of us get for lunch, but a boon for those working there. Or weekend crowd. Good they're here.

I hate to be Mr. Negative but that's a crappy location for 99.9% of us. I'm not going to park my car, walk through a maze, give a blood sample to security to eat there. How about anyplace other then that place, it sure doesn't work for me.

[SpartanDawg]

i agree with softailrider ... i really am not a fan of it going IN the rencen [[vs. the new Granite City that will have a separate entrance off Jefferson, ergo being walkable) ... i'll never eat there... there are some empty retail spots along woodward in midtown that would've been 100x better. clearly they're catering to the business lunch crowd working in the rencen.. nothing wrong with that i guess.

hoping a certain mexican food chain *cough*chiptole*cough* opens in midtown soon... and before everyone jumps in on me 'OMG DUDE GO TO MEXICANTOWN WHY DO YOU WANT BLAND NATIONAL CHAINZ BRO' ... listen.. sometimes i just want a mother flipping chipotle burrito quick and cheap ... sue me.

[Zacha341]

^^^ I hear you on the Chiptole thing. Sure it is not the 'real' deal but on occasion it's an appreciable step up from Taco Bell which is inedible crap for sure.

[masterblaster]

I hate to be Mr. Negative but that's a crappy location for 99.9% of us. I'm not going to park my car, walk through a maze, give a blood sample to security to eat there. How about anyplace other then that place, it sure doesn't work for me.

The Wintergarden is right off the Riverwalk along Atwater Street, so you don't actually have to go through a maze, you can just walk down Beaubien, turn right at Atwater, and walk a minute to the Wintergarden entrance.

Or if you happen to be jogging or walking along the Riverwalk enjoying the beautiful views of the river and Canada, you can just stroll right on in.

[stasu1213]

Detroit need more sandwich shops downtown. I had noticed Wich Wich is opening in the Penobscott Building. Opening Soon sign had always been misleading to me especially in Detroit where there are hoops to jump through and red tape to cut away. Panera Bread would had done better in the Compuware Building with it's storefront facing Woodward.

[mikeg19]

Pretty sure it's mostly to cater to those working in the RenCen, not a huge crowd coming from DTE or Compuware. Plenty of other places to eat besides Panera that are a lot better in D-Town.

[belleislerunner]

Gilbert/BedRock/Jim Ketai should go after Chipotle or Panera to fill the Olga kitchen in Compuware.

[401don]

I think it will do well with the weekend crowd also. There are a lot of tourists/Tiger fans wandering the RenCen & Riverwalk who want something better than the food court offerings when they're going to be getting hotdogs & burgers later in the day.

[mkd]

Gilbert/BedRock/Jim Ketai should go after Chipotle or Panera to fill the Olga kitchen in Compuware.

Have they stated it will close? I'm aware of the bankruptcy but didn't read that that location will close.

[Spartan]

I wonder if this will affect the Potbelly at all. Pretty similar markets. Glad they'll be joining, the Wintergarden has been a pretty big failure as far as retail goes. I assume this will go in where the old Godiva shop was.

[Spartan]

Detroit need more sandwich shops downtown. I had noticed Wich Wich is opening in the Penobscott Building. Opening Soon sign had always been misleading to me especially in Detroit where there are hoops to jump through and red tape to cut away. Panera Bread would had done better in the Compuware Building with it's storefront facing Woodward.

It probably would do better there, but that would require 1: vacancy, and 2: probably a much higher rent. Hell, Olga's ended up filing bankruptcy due to opening a restaurant there.

[iheartthed]

I hate to be Mr. Negative but that's a crappy location for 99.9% of us. I'm not going to park my car, walk through a maze, give a blood sample to security to eat there. How about anyplace other then that place, it sure doesn't work for me.

But a great location for their business model. The Potbelly in the RenCen was packed during lunch when I was there last month. The Starbucks in the RenCen also had long lines throughout the day.

[stasu1213]

I felt that Starbucks should had relocated to Winter Garden. I don't why GM would put a Winter Garden inside it's building but don't have much retail there. What was the original purpose for Winter Garden?

[Hypestyles]

I recall only once having ever been to Panera Bread. They’re not in Detroit’s urban boundaries at all. What all foods do they serve? Is it just bagels, donuts, coffee?

[RO_Resident]

I recall only once having ever been to Panera Bread. They’re not in Detroit’s urban boundaries at all. What all foods do they serve? Is it just bagels, donuts, coffee?

Those plus soups, salads, sandwiches, and free wifi.

[dtowncitylover]

I felt that Starbucks should had relocated to Winter Garden. I don't why GM would put a Winter Garden inside it's building but don't have much retail there. What was the original purpose for Winter Garden?

It was the original upscale mall part of the RenCen. Shops likes Givenchy, Brooks Brothers, and Cartier. It would be interesting to see pictures of what it was like when it opened.

[softailrider]

But a great location for their business model. The Potbelly in the RenCen was packed during lunch when I was there last month. The Starbucks in the RenCen also had long lines throughout the day.

I'm sure your right. They'll do great at lunch, I'm not too sure how busy they'll be at the dinner hours.

[downtownguy]

Gilbert/BedRock/Jim Ketai should go after Chipotle or Panera to fill the Olga kitchen in Compuware.

I walked by that location last Sunday. I don't think they've ever been open on Sunday, but they appeared to still be in business.

On the other hand, I noticed that Ben & Jerry's was closed. When did that happen? They had paper over the windows, and some work was being done inside. I couldn't tell if they were moving B&J out, or moving something new in.

[downtownguy]

It was the original upscale mall part of the RenCen. Shops likes Givenchy, Brooks Brothers, and Cartier. It would be interesting to see pictures of what it was like when it opened.

While my memory of the locations of the original chi chi stores in the Ren Cen is fuzzy, I'm pretty sure they weren't in the Winter Garden area. In fact, the Winter Garden didn't even exist until GM bought the Ren Cen and did the big makeover.

That said, perhaps the reason why Starbucks stays where they're at is because it is indeed good for business. The regular office worker knows where they are, and they are much more accessible to hotel guests at that location.

In fact, the Winter Garden is almost a ghost town. Jos A Bank closed a little while ago, the Scent place closed recently. Pure Detroit relocated a long time ago to another location in the Ren Cen. About that's all left now is some optical store on the second floor and Andiamo's which appears to be doing well. But Andiamo's takes full advantage of their view of the river, their sidewalk cafe, easy valet parking and their access to holding big events in the Winter Garden.

Even Au Bon Pain, which I thought was in a good location right off the Jefferson gerbil tube, closed recently. Just goes to show, retail is still a tough business in the Ren Cen, but people got to eat. I'm sure Panera did extensive market research, and that their choice of the Ren Cen was based on that.

[dtowncitylover]

While my memory of the locations of the original chi chi stores in the Ren Cen is fuzzy, I'm pretty sure they weren't in the Winter Garden area. In fact, the Winter Garden didn't even exist until GM bought the Ren Cen and did the big makeover.

While the Winter Garden wasn't there, I believe that was the area were the shops were located. It just wasn't the glassy-ness we see today.

[detroitbob]

The goal of this location isto service the 12 hours of M-F workers in the complex. Ren Cen is still not a destination for the revived central business district employees to "run for lunch".

[313WX]

I'm sure GM, given its size and workers who are fairly well paid, had some influence in the opening of this Panera Bread location.

Grosse Pointe is also home to a Panera Bread despite having only 5,300 people. But of course median household income is just shy of $90,000 per year. With GM having between 5,000 and 6,000 employees in the Ren Cen, I'm sure their income numbers are at least similar to Grosse Pointe's [[probably higher) given that's where all of the executives are.

If this isn't good enough for some, then they need to either call on Dan Gilbert, open a PAnera Bread themselves or lobby the city government.

[313WX]

I recall only once having ever been to Panera Bread. They’re not in Detroit’s urban boundaries at all. What all foods do they serve? Is it just bagels, donuts, coffee?

They have THE BEST cookies!!!

They're practically the size of frisbees [[literally).