Ted and I went to lunch at St. Louis Bread Co. this week. A number of years ago, when we were in the Seattle area visiting Thom, Ted and I went to lunch at Panera Bread while Thom was at work, and we remarked on how similar to St. Louis Bread Co. it was. A little research at the time taught me that Panera Bread bought St. Louis Bread Co., which explained the similarity. The original company, founded in Kirkwood, MO (a western suburb of St. Louis) continues to operate over 100 sites in the St. Louis area under its original name of St. Louis Bread Co.