The founder of Panera Bread, locally known as 最新杏吧原创 Bread Co., Kenneth Rosenthal, died Friday. He was 81.
Rosenthal, a 最新杏吧原创 native, and his wife Linda opened the first 最新杏吧原创 Bread Co. store in the Greentree Shopping Center in Kirkwood in 1987. Rosenthal was inspired to sell bread after a trip to San Francisco, known for its sourdough scene, to visit his brother.
Rosenthal鈥檚 nephew, Clayco founder Bob Clark, detailed his relationship with 鈥淯ncle Kenny鈥 in a blog post published . Clark remembered learning about Rosenthal鈥檚 鈥渃razy idea鈥 of starting a bakery. At the time, Rosenthal owned a that sold women鈥檚 clothes, and Clark was worried that Rosenthal was risking his business.
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鈥淜enny was showing me a rough set of plans for this bakery and trying to get me to give him an idea of what it was going to cost to build out,鈥 Clark wrote. 鈥淚鈥檓 not even sure I told him the price because I thought this was going to go nowhere. How wrong I was.鈥
Rosenthal started that first store with $150,000 of his own money and took out a Small Business Administration loan for $150,000. Clayco helped Rosenthal in his openings and Clark said Clayco lost about $14,000 on the Kirkwood store and about $15,000 on the next few bakeries.
But Rosenthal was passionate. He returned to San Francisco to learn how to make bread and even would get up at midnight to make sourdough bread for the bakery. Soon, the concept saw success.
鈥淚 was more than a little shocked by the immediate positive reaction to the bakery,鈥 Clark wrote. 鈥淟ines of people鈥rowds鈥nthusiasm鈥uzz鈥ll of the things you would want to have happen, which led to multiple stores being opened in short order.鈥
Eventually, 最新杏吧原创 Bread Co. grew to about 20 locations in the 最新杏吧原创 area and expanded its menu to include sandwiches, soups, pastries and salads. In 1993, Au Bon Pain Co., a publicly traded cafe chain, acquired 最新杏吧原创 Bread Co. for $23 million and eventually rebranded to Panera.
Rosenthal stayed with the company for a few years to help launch stores outside of the 最新杏吧原创 market before leaving to open a franchise business called Breads of the World in the 1990s.
鈥淎long the way, Panera led the evolution of what has become known as the fast-casual restaurant category,鈥 Clark wrote. 鈥淚t was a phenomenal success story and yet you would have always found the founder humble and with a great sense of awe and humor.鈥
Today, Panera boasts about 2,200 cafes in the United States and Canada. Some of the bakery-caf茅 locations around 最新杏吧原创 continue to operate under the 最新杏吧原创 Bread Co. banner.
In 2017, JAB Holdings, a Luxembourg-based private equity group, bought Panera for $7.5 billion and paid out shareholders to make it a private company again.
Two years ago, it was reported that Panera had filed paperwork to go public after pulling the plug on its IPO due to a faltering market. Panera Bread is headquartered in Fenton, off Interstate 44 and South Highway Drive.
went to University City High School and is described as humble and selfless. He was known for his 鈥渆xtraordinary kindness and generosity, always readily offering a helping hand to those in need,鈥 according to his obituary. He was committed to giving back to the community and supporting charities.
Doron Berger, a friend and business partner of Rosenthal鈥檚, remembered Rosenthal as kind and loving. He called Rosenthal his mentor.
鈥淓veryone who knew Ken thought that they were best friends,鈥 Berger said at a service held in Denver on Monday. 鈥淜en had a special quality that made everyone feel at ease.鈥
Rosenthal is survived by Linda, his wife of 55 years; brother Don Rosenthal; children Eric Rosenthal, Carlye Flom, Scott Rosenthal and Kari 鈥淪ara鈥 Rosenthal; and 13 grandchildren.
