Panera Bread Reports System-Wide Comparable Bakery-Cafe Sales Increased 6.4% For the Four Weeks Ended March 22, 2005

                                 For the 4 weeks ended  For the 12 weeks ended

                                       March 22, 2005      March 22, 2005

     Company-owned                         6.8%                 7.4%

     Franchised                            6.2%                 6.3%

     Total System                          6.4%                 6.6%

Comparable bakery-cafe sales increases exclude closed locations and are based on sales for bakery-cafes that have been in operation for at least 18 months.

As previously announced, the Company is changing its fiscal week in 2005 to end on Tuesday rather than Saturday. This change occurred in the period ended March 22, 2005. The additional three days in the period ended March 22, 2005 have been excluded for comparative purposes. Management believes the presentation of comparable bakery-cafe sales for the period ended March 22, 2005 excluding the additional three days in 2005 is a more meaningful and useful gauge of the Company's performance because it makes consistent the length of the periods on which the comparison is based.

Included above are franchised and system-wide comparable bakery-cafe sales increases. System-wide sales are a non-GAAP financial measure that includes sales at all company bakery-cafes and franchise bakery-cafes, as reported by franchisees. Management uses system-wide sales information internally in connection with store development decisions, planning and budgeting analyses, and believes it is useful in assessing consumer acceptance of the Company's brand and facilitates understanding of financial performance as the Company's franchisees pay royalties and contribute to advertising pools based on a percentage of their sales.

Panera Bread Company owns and franchises bakery-cafes under the Panera Bread® and Saint Louis Bread Co.® names. The Company is a leader in the emerging specialty bread/cafe category due to its unique bread combined with a quick, casual dining experience.


Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

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