Food & Beverage

Kansas City-area Panera locations testing booze

Provided

November 2, 2020

Five Kansas City-area Panera Bread locations added beer and wine to the menu last month, according to a company press release from Pan American Group, a subsidiary of Flynn Restaurant Group LP, which owns 135 Paneras as well as 440 Applebee's, 367 Arby's restaurants, 280 Taco Bell and related Yum Brands restaurants in 33 states.

The launch of "Panera Tonight: Beer, Wine & Dine" coincided with the debut of three flatbread pizzas — Cheese, Margherita and Chipotle Chicken & Bacon — which hit national menus on the same day.

"We are delighted to expand our evening offerings to customers through partnerships with Boulevard Brewing Co. and Ménage à Trois Wines," said Rebecca Diefendorf, a marketing manager for Pan American Group. "Panera offers delicious food all day long. Now you can start your morning with coffee and (a) bagel and end the day with wine and a flatbread pizza. It doesn't get better than that."

Panera has partnered with Kansas City-based Boulevard Brewing Co. and Napa Valley's Ménage à Trois Wines to offer beer, wine and sparkling seltzer options from 4 p.m. to close. Offerings include Pale Ale, Unfiltered Wheat Beer, and Quirk Spiked & Sparkling Strawberry Lemon & Basil seltzer from Boulevard Brewing Co. and Ménage à Trois' Red Blend, Gold Chardonnay and Limelight Pinot Grigio. In addition, beer and wine will be half-off until Nov. 17.

"Like mine, families on-the-go are always looking for dinner options that are delicious, healthy and please the entire family," said Natalie Gershon, vice president of marketing for Boulevard. "We are honored to team up with Panera for this pilot and offer fans Boulevard beer and seltzer in our backyard."

Beverage prices range from $4 to $6, with flatbread pizzas starting at $7.59.

"We are thrilled to be the wine partner with Panera for this pilot," Wendy Nyberg, Ménage à Trois Wines' vice president of marketing, said in the release. "Kansas City is a sophisticated market that will be a bellwether for the rest of the country."

Flynn Restaurant Group generates $2.3 billion in sales and employs over 40,000 people.