# Is it o.k. for Panera to be out of Bread Bowls? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2012, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911 "2012-07-31T01:30:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/21 "2012-07-31T05:41:10Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > And the name is derived from the founders-Forrest and Leroy Raffel, the **R** affel **B** rothers I reject your reality and substitute it with my own. Next you’ll be telling me that neither Popeye nor a Church developed delicious chicken recipes. Let’s both just set our pistols down reeeeall slow like. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/22 "2012-07-31T05:51:48Z")
Now that you’re disarmed. 😉 [History of Arby’s](http://www.arbys.com/about.html) > [@](#): > > When foodservice veterans Leroy and Forrest Raffel opened the first Arby’s in Boardman, Ohio on July 23, 1964, customers enjoyed roast beef sandwiches, potato chips, and Texas-sized iced teas. To name their new venture, the brothers decided on Arby’s, which stands for R.B., the initials of the Raffel Brothers - although many suspect the R.B. stands for roast beef. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/23 "2012-07-31T05:54:27Z")
Runner Pat probably just saw the same training video that I did. Let’s at least all agree that microwaving the turkey for turkey reubens smelled awful. Inner Stickler (whose hands are still insensitive to temperature because of the roast beef.) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/24 "2012-07-31T05:58:07Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Runner Pat probably just saw the same training video that I did. Let’s at least all agree that microwaving the turkey for turkey reubens smelled awful. > > Inner Stickler (whose hands are still insensitive to temperature because of the roast beef.) They didn’t have videos in those days, just paintings on the rock walls. No microwaves either. Just a little steam drawer for the ham ‘n’ cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/25 "2012-07-31T07:13:03Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > I missed this while posting. During the breakfast hours they almost can’t stock enough of them, seems some people equate them with hash browns. If they _did_ give you some at lunch, chances are they had been there waiting for you for quite a while. I worked at Arby’s back in the '70s when they weren’t even open before lunchtime. Potato cakes were their answer to french fries at the burger joints, not some sort of breakfast dish. I think so many people order curly fries now (yuck) that they don’t make enough tri-taters for traditionalists like me. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/26 "2012-07-31T07:45:07Z")
No, they’ve now gone on to the tater cakes with bacon and cheese. I am an addict and no 12-step program can help me. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/27 "2012-07-31T08:37:57Z")
For a while, Arby’s ran a commercial which had the jingle “America’s Roast Beef, Yes Sir!” ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/28 "2012-07-31T10:25:04Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > I like Panera, but to be out of bread bowls would just make me think they were popular that day. It’s not like KFC being out of chicken; that’s what they serve. Panera has all kinds of sandwiches and salads, as well as pastries. It’s just one item that they’re out of. I can see being disappointed, but not upset. I guess I would liken it to your example of Subway and avocado. I wouldn’t think anything of it either. They must have had more bread-bowl orders than usual. I have to say, I hate seeing people finish their bread-bowl soup and just throw out the whole hollowed-out bread. Why did you get a bowl made of bread just to throw it out? You can eat it, that’s the _point_. ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/29 "2012-07-31T10:28:36Z")
> [@SnakesCatLady](#): > > No, they’ve now gone on to the tater cakes with bacon and cheese. I am an addict and no 12-step program can help me. Oh, that is truly evil. I must find some. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/30 "2012-07-31T11:04:01Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > I have to say, I hate seeing people finish their bread-bowl soup and just throw out the whole hollowed-out bread. Why did you get a bowl made of bread just to throw it out? You can eat it, that’s the _point_. Sometimes you just can’t eat any more, and I’m thinking a soggy bread bowl isn’t a good candidate for a doggy bag. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/31 "2012-07-31T11:16:47Z")
Years ago, we went to a KFC’s on the 4th of July and they were out of chicken. The hapless manager put a scribbled sign on the front door, but no one read it. so he had to endure their wrath. Boy, can people get angry over chicken. I’m surprised he wasn’t tarred-and-feathered. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/32 "2012-07-31T11:41:34Z")
Driving across Missouri sometime last year, my wife and I stopped at a combination KFC/Taco Bell for lunch. At home when we get KFC we get the grilled chicken, so that’s what we ordered. Counter dude tells us they don’t have the grilled chicken (I didn’t realize it wasn’t available everywhere) so we order regular. We sit down and wait for our order… and wait, and wait, and wait. People who came in five minutes after we did are getting their food, and we’re still sitting there. Meanwhile the kid who took our order has mysteriously disappeared. After ten minutes I went up to the counter to see what was going. There was nobody up front so I had to flag down someone from the kitchen to ask about our order. “The chicken’s still cooking. It’s going to be about ten more minutes,” she tells me. WTF? Why didn’t they tell us when we ordered that they were out of chicken? I would have ordered Taco Bell! So it took 20 minutes to get our lunch, but they did give us free drinks. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/33 "2012-07-31T12:03:26Z")
> [@Sudden\_Kestrel](#): > > For me, Arby’s being out of potato cakes is unthinkable, and they’re _always_ out of potato cakes at lunchtime. > [@dnooman](#): > > The drive through soon filled with people incredulously crowing “Yer outta WHUTTT? This is tha dang Arbeeeees!” 'round here, they make potato cakes fresh because so few people order them, which means you have to pull around and wait for your order if you go through the drive thru. So the last time I went to this particular Arby’s, I was feeling in a hurry so I only ordered the roast beef sandwich. And they had me pull around to wait anyway. Like I said, it was the LAST time I went to that Arby’s. ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/34 "2012-07-31T12:37:08Z")
Restaurants can run out of things for various reasons. An unexpected increase in buisness, simple oversight on the part of whoever does inventory/ordering on either end, vendors being out of stock on certain items, etc. They usually don’t run out of things just to piss you off… ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/35 "2012-07-31T13:04:26Z")
When it comes to KFC is say I have about a 20% rate of having to wait for them to cook some portion of the order. They always offer free stuff while I wait but if I wanted that I’d have ordered it in the first place. The winner for me is the time we stopped at a Taco Bell in Oakland (Grand and Telegraph) an they were out of both rice and tortillas. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/36 "2012-07-31T13:14:22Z")
> [@stegon66](#): > > Restaurants can run out of things for various reasons. An unexpected increase in buisness, simple oversight on the part of whoever does inventory/ordering on either end, vendors being out of stock on certain items, etc. They usually don’t run out of things just to piss you off… Agreed. To be out of bread bowls on a rare occasion where there’s a very rare spike in demand is to be expected. For a restaurant to be out of an item on a daily basis is just poor planning. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/37 "2012-07-31T13:32:07Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Years ago, we went to a KFC’s on the 4th of July and they were out of chicken. The hapless manager put a scribbled sign on the front door, but no one read it. so he had to endure their wrath. Boy, can people get angry over chicken. I’m surprised he wasn’t tarred-and-feathered. Well, tarred, maybe. After all, you just said they were out of chicken. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/38 "2012-07-31T13:38:16Z")
How about a Starbucks without coffee? Well, to be fair, they were only out of decaf, it was late, and they weren’t going to brew a new pot. Had to go next door to McDonalds. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/39 "2012-07-31T14:01:49Z")
Does Panera make the bread on site? They will, after all, then have a limit to how much they can make, regardless of how high the demand is. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911/40 "2012-07-31T14:18:22Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > How about a Starbucks without coffee? Well, to be fair, they were only out of decaf, it was late, and they weren’t going to brew a new pot. Had to go next door to McDonalds. How strange. Pretty much every coffee place that doesn’t have decaf or runs out offers a decaf americano as a substitute. I would think Starbucks of all places would be aware of this practice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-o-k-for-panera-to-be-out-of-bread-bowls/629911.md?page=3)