Archives for June 2015

Panera Bread® debut its first location in Beverly Hills today, Thursday, June 25 at 239 South Beverly Drive, formerly the historic Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce building.

Early bird guests may be awarded bread for a year or coffee tumblers. The first 100 customers to visit the new location on opening day will be treated to a monthly free loaf of bread for a year. On Friday, June 26, the first 100 customers to sign up for a MyPanera® account at a designated registration table will receive a free Panera Bread coffee tumbler.

Distinctive Design

The new Beverly Hills Panera Bread will feature distinctive design elements unique to the company in this region. These include several of the building’s original features, a rustic urban vibe with a variety of woods like hickory, walnut and western hemlock and black steel accents throughout.

The building was constructed in 1948 and preservation of several of its original elements in the new bakery-cafe include: the exposed brick walls, wood trusses and copper lettering from the original Chamber of Commerce sign.

Co-owned by USC All American and NFL football legend Keyshawn Johnson and First Picks Bread Company, LLC, the new location will feature select Panera 2.0 enhancements – a series of integrated technologies to enhance the guest experience for all consumers no matter how they choose to use Panera.

Panera 2.0 elements include Rapid Pick-Up. For customers who have ordered their food “to go” (from the web, mobile app, kiosk or cashier), this bakery-cafe will be equipped with a special “to go” pick-up area, featuring dedicated seating, an order-status monitor providing real-time information as orders are prepared and completed, and shelf space, all to facilitate easy pick up. “To go” guests can claim their food without waiting in line using a travel path through the cafe that is unique and different from that of “eat in” customers. In the coming months, the Beverly Hills location will roll out meal delivery to tables and fast lane kiosks where guests can save customizations, past orders, and “favorites” for easy ordering on their next visit.

“We’re delighted to bring Panera Bread to the residents, community members and businesses in Beverly Hills. We expect a great response to our high quality menu offerings, unique design and Rapid Pick-Up feature from those working in the Wilshire Corridor and people visiting the area,” said Johnson.

LA Food Bank Partnership

Also as part of its ongoing fundraising efforts, all donations from the Beverly Hills bakery-cafe’s Day-End Dough-Nation™ program will go to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank to help support local families in need. The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank works to end hunger in the Los Angeles County and has helped distribute more than one billion pounds of food to food insecure individuals since its founding 42 years ago.

“We’re grateful to Panera Bread for their commitment to helping us ensure that food insecure individuals in Los Angeles have access to regular meals,” said Liz Cervantes, Agency Relations Director at the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. “One in six people in Los Angeles County are at risk for hunger, so these donations will help us meet this tremendous need and make a significant impact.”

Ribbon-Cutting Event

The new bakery-cafe held with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and VIP party on June 19, with celebrities, city officials and community members in attendance. The event featured sample menu offerings, a silent auction and select wines from Gypsy Canyon Winery—hand-tended wine made in small batches crafted by winemaker Deborah Hall from her vineyard in Santa Barbara County, with only 500 cases made per year. Donations raised from the silent auction went to the Ingrid Roberts Charitable Fund to help improve the quality of life for children with rare cancers.

Panera Bread Beverly Hills is located at 239 S. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. It will open to the public at 7 a.m. on Thursday, June 25. Regular store hours are Monday – Friday, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m., and Saturday – Sunday, 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. The phone number is (310) 860-9200.

About Panera Bread

30 years ago, at a time when quick service meant low quality, Panera set out to challenge this expectation. We believed that food that was good and that you could feel good about, served in a warm and welcoming environment by people who cared, could bring out the best in all of us. To us, that is good eating and that is why we exist.

So we began with a simple commitment: to bake fresh bread from fresh dough in every bakery-cafe, every day. No artificial preservatives or short cuts, just bakers with simple ingredients and hot ovens. Each night, any unsold bread and baked goods were shared with neighbors in need.

These traditions carry on today, as we have continued to find ways to be an ally to our guests. That means crafting a menu of soups, salads and sandwiches that we are proud to feed our families. Like poultry and pork raised without antibiotics on our salads and sandwiches. A commitment to transparency and options that empower our guests to eat the way they want. Seasonal flavors and whole grains. And a commitment to removing artificial additives (flavors, colors, sweeteners and preservatives) from the food in our bakery-cafes.

We’re also focused on improving quality and convenience. With investments in technology and operations, we now offer new ways to enjoy your Panera favorites – like mobile ordering and Rapid Pick-Up for to-go orders – all designed to make things easier for our guests. As of April 28, 2015, there are 1,901 bakery-cafes in 45 states and in Ontario, Canada operating under the Panera Bread®, Saint Louis Bread Co. ® or Paradise Bakery & Cafe® names. For more information, visit panerabread.com or find us on Twitter (@panerabread), Facebook (facebook.com/panerabread) or Instagram (@panerabread).

About First Picks Bread Company, LLC

First Picks Management is an area developer and franchisee for Panera Bread in Southern Californa and on the Central Coast of California. Founded in 2006, First Picks Management is a business development company for the enterprises of professional sports athletes and select high net-worth individuals. The group invests intellectual, human and financial capital into promising businesses for the prudent development and management of enterprises. To date, they have partnered with over a dozen professional sports athletes and business entities to achieve these objectives. They work with start-up entities as well as seasoned brands. Additional information is available on their website, www.firstpicksmgmt.com

Credit: Panera Bread.

The Lost Generation Movie is the first comprehensive film that paints a portrait of the ADHD epidemic in the US.

The Lost Generation tells a story that has yet to be told and answers questions that haven’t dared to be asked.

Did you know that 11% of children ages 4 – 17 are diagnosed with ADHD and 8 million adults are living with ADHD. The very systems that should support our children withADHD are the very ones failing them. On so many fronts – human, economic, social, legal- we lack the awareness and ability to create a better space and place for children with ADHD to thrive.

The Lost Generation is the first film to look at ADHD beyond the behavior and explore just why the most studied childhood disorder is still so misunderstood in 2015.

To kick off their Kickstarter campaign, The Lost Generation has collaborated with Wear Your Label to normalize the conversation about mental health. The Lost Generation will be giving away Wear Your Label bracelets to the first 100 people to donate on Kickstarter.

For more information to donate to The Lost Generation, go to:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1182085659/the-lost-generation-the-untold-story-of-adhd

Self Disclosure: No compensation was received to post. Credit: The Lost Generation.