Panera Bread Is The Largest Provider Of Free WiFi

ayb11 writes "According to this article, the Panera Bread chain of Bakery/Cafes (think Starbucks that bakes their own bread) is the largest provider of free WiFi in the US. Their web site says, " There are currently 573 Wi-Fi enabled Panera Bread bakery-cafes, from California to Virginia. More are added every day." (Even my retired dad takes his barely-used laptop over there so he can get free refills on coffee.) Their full list of hotspots is here."

Handy when the in-laws arrive

[mr. methane]

I've used the local one more than once. Only thing I've noticed is that it's sometimes fairly laggy even when there aren't more than one or two people on them.

And the sandwiches are pretty good, too. Strong coffee also :)

Well it isn't that expensive

[hsmith]

Companies act like it is a cripling cost, but what $60/month for cable, when customers will use this feature if you have it, it will even draw people to your store. Giving it away for free should bring them more people one would think.

but then again starbucks has such a big customer base that those people don't care what they pay for WiFi as long as they get their mocacappachino that costs $8

St. Louis Bread Company

[Anonymous Coward]

They are still called The St. Louis Bread Company here in St. Louis

And, from Canton, OH It's working well right now

[ej0c]

At their Strip location!

Re:I bet

[tmasssey]

Are you kidding?

SBC offers DSL for $30 a month. So I can't see how Panera would pay more than $30/month for high-speed access. Do you know how many times I've eaten over-priced Panera sandwiches for lunch just for the WiFi?

It's easily $7-$8 for a half sandwich, cup of soup (You-pick-two) and a drink. If 10 people do that a *month*, I'm *sure* they've paid for the WiFi. I probably do it *myself* that many times a month. Just for the WiFi!

Obligatory OT Panera Shout

[Asprin]

Mmmm... Panera.... [droool]....

Best. Shortbread. Cookies. Ever.

Directional antenna

[Anonymous Coward]

I live quite close to a Panera Bread, and a directional antenna makes an easy way for me to get internet access without actually going into the café. I simply sit in the car somewhere in the parking lot and aim my directional antenna directly at the establishment. There are several businesses in the same strip mall - it would be easy for them to save on buying their own internet access.

--
Dogs are annoying. Go ECFA.

Re:Not bad service.

[Anonymous Coward]

If you want to fix that copy down the URL that you get sent to and put that in your safari bookmarks. I did that and it works fine now.

Not really an "article"

[johndiii]

It's rather more of a "press release". The little blurb at the end is pretty much of a giveaway. Go ahead and RTFPR, but don't expect too much of it.

Re:Now if only

[bjtuna]

I actually took a casual look into their franchising program. Apparently you have to make quite an investment; you need to pledge to be the franchisee for an entire city/region, not just for a single franchise. I guess this is the reason why some cities (ie, Towson, Maryland) have multiple Paneras within a few miles of each other, and other areas (ie, Boise, Idaho, my current home) don't have any yet.

Look for them in Dowza

[Anonymous Coward]

To find these hotspots in your area on a map look for them in Dowza [dowza.com]. Fast Hotspot search engine without all the annoying adds and with good mapping.

Yum

[Anonymous Coward]

Panera rules! The Frontega Chicken panini is truly outstanding.

security?

[runamok1]

Do they have use sort of WEP, WPA, etc.?

Or can you do something like this [evilscheme.org]?

As a previous poster mentioned, I would never do anything until I had an SSH tunnel or something.

Someone in promiscuous mode could ruin your whole month.

Krystal has free WiFi

[waynegoode]

For those of us in the SE USA, Krystal has free WiFi. There website says that 50 of their 245 stores will have it by 7/2004. Probably more have it now. Free WiFi and the steamy goodness of a Krystal. (mmmm...)

Interesting disclaimer on their website [krystal.com]: We regret that the manager and restaurant personnel can't provide assistance with the Krystal HotSpot as they are not computer specialists.

For the Yankees in audience, Krystal is the Southern version of White Castle.