Au Bon Pain

Au Bon Pain

Au Bon Pain (Direct French Translation: "At the Good Bread") is a fast-casual bakery/cafe chain headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. Louis Rapuano and Louis Kane founded Au Bon Pain in 1978. Pavailler contributed baking machinery to the venture.

The first Au Bon Pain bakery, established in Boston, became an instant success. By 1984, the first Au Bon Pain cafe outside of Boston opened in New York City.

In 1991, the company went public as Au Bon Pain Co. Inc. In 1999, Au Bon Pain Co. Inc. (later renamed Panera Bread Company) sold its Au Bon Pain division to Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. Inc., which then sold it to Compass Group in 2000 [1] . (Source: Panera Bread).

According to Hoovers.com, in 2005, Au Bon Pain management purchased 75 percent of the company while the Compass Group retained the remaining 25 percent. The current President and CEO of Au Bon Pain is Sue Morelli. Currently there are around 230 cafes in the United States and abroad. Most of the stores in the northeast United States are company-owned, while international locations are typically franchised. Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Detroit, and Chicago are all home to numerous Au Bon Pain locations in their respective urban centers. The stores have been particularly successful in transportation facilities such as airports and train stations, as well as shopping centers and business districts in cities. For example, Au Bon Pain has three locations in New York City's Port Authority Bus Terminal alone. The chain is also very successful on college campuses; the University of Pennsylvania has four locations on its campus. While it has focused on urban locations, the chain has begun expanding into suburban areas such as Woburn, Massachusetts, which opened in July 2004 as well as Pembroke, Massachusetts which opened the following year.

Au Bon Pain has attempted to differentiate itself from similar fast casual chains by emphasizing both hospitality and the diversity, quality, and freshness of its menu and ingredients. The chain focuses on serving coffee drinks, baked goods (with a focus on croissants and bagels), and lunch items such as soup, salads, and sandwiches. In recent years the chain has undergone a brand identity upgrade which has incorporated colors, design, and imagery from traditional French motifs. In 2004, Au Bon Pain hired Chef Thomas John, executive chef from Boston's Mantra restaurant, which was named one of "Esquire"'s best restaurants of 2001 and "Condé Nast Traveler"'s top restaurants of 2003. John was named one of "America's Best New Chefs" in 2002 by "Food & Wine Magazine". As a continuation of the new strategy, many cafes are being built or renovated into "Marketplace" stores, in which the product is made available in a self-serve fashion to customers.

In addition to retail cafes, Au Bon Pain also runs a catering division.

The chain was recently recognized for its use of touchscreen terminals offering nutritional information to patrons [http://www.cgnad.com/default.asp?action=article&ID=136] .

External links

* [http://www.aubonpain.com Official website]
* [http://starchefs.com/features/trends/healthy_fast_food/index.shtml Article on nutrition kiosks]
* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is_5_39/ai_n9523112 History of the chain and its marketing]


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  • pain — [ pɛ̃ ] n. m. • 1050; pan 980; lat. panis 1 ♦ Aliment fait de farine, d eau, de sel et de levain, pétri, fermenté et cuit au four (le pain, du pain); masse déterminée de cet aliment ayant une forme donnée (un pain). Pâte à pain. Faire du pain.… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • pain — PAIN. s. m. Aliment ordinaire fait de farine pestrie & cuite. Bon pain. mauvais pain. pain bis. pain blanc, bis blanc. pain noir. pain tendre. pain frais. pain rassis. pain dur. pain salé. pain sans levain. pain de froment. pain de segle. pain d… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • bon — BON, Bonne. adj. Qui a en soy toutes les qualitez necessaires à sa nature. Bon vin. bonne eau. bon air. bon cheval. bonne terre. bon fruit. bonnes cerises. bonnes poires, &c. bon blé. bonne avoine. bon pain. bon or. bon argent. En ce sens il se… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • bon — 1. bon, bonne [ bɔ̃, bɔn ] adj. et adv. • buon Xe; lat. bonus. REM. Le compar. de bon est meilleur; plus... bon peut s employer lorsque les deux mots ne se suivent pas : Plus ou moins bon. Plus il est bon, plus on se moque de lui. En épithète,… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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  • Pain — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Pain (homonymie). Différentes sortes de pain. Le pain est l aliment de base de nombreuses sociétés. Il est fabriqué à partir de farine …   Wikipédia en Français

  • BON — ONNE. adj. qui a pour comparatif Meilleur. Il se dit, tant au sens physique qu au sens moral, De ce qui a les qualités convenables à sa nature, à sa destination, à l emploi qu on en doit faire, au résultat qu on en veut obtenir, etc. Une bonne… …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 7eme edition (1835)

  • BON, ONNE — adj. (Voir pour le comparatif MEILLEUR.) Il se dit, tant au sens physique qu’au sens moral, de Ce qui a les qualités convenables à sa nature, à sa destination, à l’emploi qu’on en doit faire, au résultat qu’on en veut obtenir, etc. Une bonne… …   Dictionnaire de l'Academie Francaise, 8eme edition (1935)

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