Operations
Panera rolling out contactless dine-in
February 1, 2022
Panera is rolling out contactless dine-in to locations across the United States. The feature in the Panera mobile app allows guests to place orders on their devices for plated dine-in service, George Hanson, SVP, and chief digital officer, said in a company press release.
"Panera is constantly innovating our technology to respond to the ever-shifting needs of our guests, and contactless dine-in is a great example; in fact, we sped up the national rollout to provide a solution for today's guest concerns," he said in the release. "Now, guests can avoid lines or shared devices and simply order from a quiet corner of the bakery-cafe. With options like curbside, RPU, drive-thru and now contactless dine-in, our guests can order in a way that best suits their needs."
How it works
MyPanera members and guests who have push notifications enabled on the Panera mobile app are alerted of the service as they step into a cafe. Upon opening the app, guests select the "dine-in" option, and the cafe receives the order. Once ready, the guest receives an email and, if opted in, may also receive a text and/or push notification. The food is served plated at the Panera pick-up counter.
Panera has 2,118 bakery-cafes in 48 states and in Ontario, Canada.
