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Au Bon Pain is a fast-casual bakery/cafe chain headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The French name roughly translates to "Place of good bread". The original Au Bon Pain was founded in 1976 by a French oven manufacturer. In 1978, an investment group led by Louis Kane purchased that original store. The inspiration for the acquisition was a bakery display case Kane had seen in Faneuil Hall Marketplace. In 1981, the three existing Au Bon Pain locations were merged with Ron Shaich's Cookie Jar to create Au Bon Pain Co. Inc. The team of Kane and Shaich developed and grew Au Bon Pain. 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*. (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 more isolated locations are generally franchised. Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington DC, 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; 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 Conde Nast Traveler's Top Restaurants of 2003. John was named one of "America's Best New Chefs" in 2002 by Food & Wine. 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 logo uses the typeface Futura Black, designed by Paul Renner in 1929. After years of not having an official slogan, the chain now uses the trademark "Always Something New." The chain was recently recognized for its use of touch screen terminals offering nutritional information to patrons*.
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