Au Bon Pain is an American fast casual restaurant, bakery, and café chain headquartered in Boston and operating over 250 locations in the United States, India, and Thailand. The company is owned by Panera Bread, which is owned by JAB Holding Company. JAB is owned by the Reimann family of Germany. Au Bon Pain serves baked goods such as bread, pastries, croissants, and bagels as well as tea, coffee and espresso beverages, breakfast foods such as egg sandwiches, and lunch items such as soup, salads, and sandwiches. The company also offers catering services. Most of the company's locations are in Detroit, Boston, Cleveland, New York City, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. Locations are either company-owned or franchised. Most of the stand-alone locations in the United States are company-owned, while international locations and locations in Macy's and Walmart are typically franchised.
History
Pavailler, a French manufacturer of baking equipment, established the company as a showcase for its ovens in 1976 at Faneuil Hall in Boston. The company's principals included Louis Rapuano, Pavailler Machinery, and two minor investors. Pavailler contributed baking machinery to the venture. Au Bon Pain sold croissants, pastries, and bread produced by French bakers. In 1977, it opened stores in Hackensack, New Jersey and New York City. In 1978, Au Bon Pain was acquired by Louis I. Kane, a venture capitalist who liked the smell of the products, for $1.5 million. The business model was changed to sell baked goods instead of ovens. Francois Marin was hired to open and manage the first Au Bon Pain in Boston's Quincy Market. By 1980, Au Bon Pain had over $1 million in sales, but was still losing money. In 1981, the company was suffering from its debt and on the verge of bankruptcy, and a 60% interest in the company was acquired by Ronald M. Shaich and his father. In 1991, the company listed on the stock market via an initial public offering. In 1993, the company acquired Saint Louis Bread Company, the predecessor of Panera Bread, for $23 million. The company also acquired the U.S. bakery locations of Warburtons, which were converted to Au Bon Pain locations. In 1996, the company announced plans to upgrade the interior of its stores after reporting a loss. In 1997, the company considered opening locations in Peru. In 1999, Au Bon Pain Co. Inc. sold its Au Bon Pain division to Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co.. In 2000, it was sold to Compass Group. In 2000, the company reached a franchise agreement with Gourmet Coffee Co. Ltd. of Taiwan to open the first locations of Au Bon Pain in Taipei. In 2005, Au Bon Pain management, in partnership with PNC Financial Services, purchased 75% of the company. Compass Group retained the remaining 25%. In March 2008, LNK Partners, a private equity firm, acquired a controlling interest in the company. In 2011, all of its locations were renovated in a major remodeling program. In 2013, the company announced that by 2017, it would only use free-range eggs. In 2014, under the leadership of Sue Morelli, Au Bon Pain was named one of the top women-led businesses in Massachusetts. In January 2015, Au Bon Pain hired Katherine See as Executive Chef. In 2015, UNITE HERE, a labor union, targeted the company's employees at Philadelphia International Airport. The union published a report that the company was underperforming. In June 2016, Morelli retired and Ray Blanchette was named President and CEO. On November 8, 2017, Panera Bread announced the acquisition of Au Bon Pain, which had split off from Panera in 1999 after being created in 1981. Following the deal, Ron Shaich stepped down as the Au Bon Pain's chief executive, to be succeed by Blaine Hurst, Panera's president. In 2018, the company looked to close its 9 locations in Washington D.C. or convert them to Panera Bread locations.
