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>> Thank you so much for joining us for Last Call.

We're going to get to some of the topics we didn't have room for in the first half of the program.

Jamie, I want to ask you about uh what at one point was the fastest growing bakery cafe, if not restaurant chain in the United States, St.

Louis based Panera, known to many of us as uh St.

Louis Breadco.

It shares co-headquarters with Neita, Massachusetts, but it's at the old I I think it's on I44, right?

Right now in Sunset Hills.

>> Yeah, it's on Watson Road.

Right now on Watson Road.

Okay.

Still there.

>> Yeah.

Uh so the headquarters is here, but the CEO said this week that they made some mistakes.

Um business was down 5% last year and the reasons include not enough labor and smaller portions.

And I got to say, I'm with them.

I think they made some mistakes.

What do you think?

Oh yes, absolutely.

Um I am very glad to hear the CEO saying that like these are the mistakes we made and he is putting forth a plan.

I believe it's called Panera Rise.

He's putting forth a plan to change things around.

I am from the original St.

Louis Bread Co.

lovers.

Like it was my favorite place to go.

It was like a friend hangout.

It was a family place.

We all loved it.

I mean, I used to, you know, I love the you pick two, you know, the I mean, it was, you guys, it was [laughter] a thing.

>> What was your you pick two?

>> Okay, it was the chicken wild rice and then with the sandwich I mean, >> good stuff.

>> Okay, so but over the years it's less and less and less.

I mean, it's like I hardly ever go there anymore.

It's so sad.

And I mean I those of us who I think were true f true fans of the original Breadco I mean we are sad.

I mean because you could you could see the portions.

You could see the portion shrinking the cost going up and then I I mean not even that long ago I went to um one Panera and it was like a huge Panera but he had to do the kiosks.

I'm like I needed something could not find an employee.

I mean it was >> I'm gonna say Jamie is not alone in this.

We led off our newsletter the other day with this story of, you know, they're trying to turn it around.

I heard from so many people and what I heard from them is I used to love it and now it's horrible.

People have turned on this brand and St.

Louisans have turned on this brand.

In a way, it feels personal that people are insulted the way that they just tried to raid this thing for profits.

Here's the thing that has me concerned.

I loved what the CEO was saying.

I loved how frank he was.

And as I saw the story go viral, I kept thinking, "Wow, I sure hope they don't try to rein him in."

It was great to see him be so honest.

But anytime venture capital gets involved with these, >> they are just ringing the profit out and the consumers suffer.

I don't know that I believe they can turn this around because of the involvement of these.

But I want to believe it.

>> There there's >> You clearly [laughter] do.

>> Being living I was on the East Coast at the time and St.

Louis Bread Company started popping up in cities across America and you know that's before and then they became Panera.

It was still St.

Louis Bread Company here but it was Panera but you knew it was St.

Louis Bread Company.

It was kind of some hey that's cool St.

Louis you know rah rah right.

So we get back to St.

Lewis and it's fine that it's here, but yeah, notice the same.

Don't go there as much and you know all that.

There's Ian Fro has a story in the Post Dispatch U here that just restaurants are having tough time and they're going on social media and saying please support us because the price of hamburgers skyrocketed and etc etc.

But Panera and restaurants, you recognize you had a problem, fix it.

Build a better mousetrap.

That's all I could say to to all of them is that like, hey, find some way to bring customers in.

And if it's going back on the increased portions or cutting the price down, do something that gets people in the door.

And and it's not up to us to it's up to us to save your restaurant, but you got to give people a reason to come.

>> For me, for me, it was the lettuce.

It was the It was the lettuce blend like when they started like undercutting the lettuce.

And I wonder sometimes because like you're you're pointing out if St.

Louis has turn if St.

Louis has turned on Panera.

I kind of wonder because we are a great and loving people but we can be petty and when you removed our name from your company even though it because that was like to me it was like our San Franc you think of San Francisco bread you think of St.

Louis bread company.

I I think a lot of people are like, see if you >> there was someone in that threat.

There probably was.

But like the Rams, >> let me give you an example though, right?

You mention the St.

Louis Cardinals ain't changed their name.

And people are like, I'm not going down.

>> They would go to the Panera.

>> They would go to the Panera when they went to the ball game and they're we lost how much over the last night, you know.

So yeah, we can turn on our own regardless of the name.

>> I I think the shrinkflation was the big issue, you know.

You open up a tuna sandwich.

There's very little tuna on it, [laughter] but the price went up four bucks.

>> Oh my god.

I In fact, I I it was I I I went to Panera and it was it was like the four of us and it was I think it was like some astronomical amount of money.

And it this this was when we started to see the shrinkflation and it was oh this is not good.

This is not good because a half one of your you know pick two >> was like pick [laughter] one.

Pick none.

Now they're doing pick none [laughter] day.

Hey, how about you, Sarah?

Uh, today the mayor of St.

Louis, according to the business journal, uh, decided to implore businesses in the region, the big companies, you know, maybe the enterprises or the centines, uh, uh, I guess Peabodyy, although they moved out last week, and others to move downtown St.

Louis or to bring some form of employee involvement downtown St.

Louis or at least put a sign up to show that you care.

What do you think?

I think this is good.

You know, I heard from so many business people who were so down on Tashara Jones and they kept saying like, you know, we'd love to invest in whatever, but we just don't trust the leadership.

Well, they got what they wanted.

They got the leader they wanted and she's asking them to put their money where their mouth is.

You know, the other thing people kept saying, downtown is not safe.

And you know, if you could just fix this, then we could we would come back.

downtown right now feels so safe that it has gotten boring.

They have cleaned it up to the point that no one goes there anymore.

So, it is time for the businesses to step in.

You know, Bob Clark, uh, the founder of Clay Co, was on my podcast before the mayoral election and he said, "Yeah, we've been talking about we should all get together and we should just fill a building.

Each of us could take a couple floors."

I'd love to see them do that.

I think it's a great idea.

Um, Bob could get these guys together, make it happen.

Let's see something happen.

>> Yeah.

But what about the employees?

Would they then have to move to the county or wherever to the city and pay a 1% earnings tax?

>> Well, I mean 1% I think that's a small price to pay to be around the glory.

>> Yeah, I think I think I think the Greek chorus >> of the 1% earnings tax has got to just put the kaibos on that.

It's going to take that to get the city back up again.

I mean, I I >> And driving from the suburbs of St.

Louis is not hard.

This is not like New York City.

>> That's not the issue.

Well, but no, I'm driving is not the >> No, you said but would earn.

>> No, no, you said would the employees have to move?

No, they wouldn't have to move.

>> Yeah, it's 20 minutes.

It's 20 minutes.

You would have to move.

>> No, what I mean they they wouldn't move, but they'd have to commute to downtown and from wherever they are and they have to pay.

What has happened to us last year?

So many people because you're acting as if the other areas are not attractive.

But Clayton's attractive, Westport's attractive.

without attractive without you got to have something without No, I'm just talking about if Bob Clark and I all want to say like we're going to do something and move this part of our business to this building and try to fill this entire building.

If you were an employee and you said like look you this is where your job is going.

I mean you either commute or you get another job.

I I get the investment now the signs good idea but look no mom and pop stuff.

I mean neon flashing.

I mean like when people come down like, "Man, what's happening down there?"

And it might not be nothing, but it'll look like All right.

It'll be seriously people will be attracted to them.

They won't do a damn thing.

>> Oh, no.

You put up a flashy sign.

>> Yeah.

You put up a flashy sign in a building where you can get a cheap drink about >> Charlie.

No.

If you put up a cheap drink, THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE TALKING.

THAT'S WHAT WHAT SHE'S saying is just put up signs.

>> I know.

No.

the sign will be accompanied by the gody business.

>> But she also but mayor mayor Spencer was also talking about how exciting, you know, we've already we've taken our first steps on the millennium and bringing it down.

So, you know, that's exciting the bike path, you know, green, right?

Green line.

>> I don't think you guys know a dang thing about urban development.

What you need to do is pick up the book by Jane Jacobs, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.

Okay?

And that's all there is.

>> And all that's you know what small shops, people on the sidewalks and economies going to bring people to the sidewalk.

Shops.