Panera Unit Permits Voluntary Payment

CLAYTON, Mo.Panera Bread has opened a new store that, at first glance, looks like any other Panera. The menu is the same, and it sports the familiar layout. Its the absence of prices that will get you.

As reported by AP, the new store, run by a nonprofit foundation, lets customers pay what they want for their purchases. A motto, Take what you need, leave your fair share, hangs above the counter. Its located in Clayton, Mo., an upscale suburb of St. Louis.

Panera notes that if the store develops into a financially sustainable business, other units will open in locations around the country.

Other nonprofit-run restaurants, such as One World in Salt Lake Citypart of One World Everybody Eatshave been successful. It also has a voluntary payment policy and has proven sustainable since 2003. However, this venture is unique in that it will pull its resources from the same national distribution network as any other Panera location.