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May 30, 2005
Shaich Named Gold Plate Winner
Ronald Shaich, chairman and CEO of Panera Bread Co., received the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association’s Gold Plate Award as its 2005 Operator of the Year.
Shaich, who received the award during a May 23 ceremony in Chicago, was chosen from among this year’s nine Silver Plate winners selected by a jury of trade press editors and past Gold and Silver Plate Winners.
A co-founder of the Au Bon Pain bakery chain, Shaich led that company’s 1993 acquisition of St. Louis Bread Co., which was later renamed Panera Bread.
Shaich came to believe that Panera could become a dominant brand, but to do so, the chain would need significant financial resources and management attention. In 1998, he convinced Au Bon Pain’s board of directors to sell all its other business units to focus on Panera.
Since the completion of those transactions in 1999, Panera has grown from 180 locations to 741 at the end of last year. In 2004, its average unit volume was $1.87 million, and system-wide sales reached $1.2 billion.
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