Panera is Linda's favorite place to go in the morning for coffee, to read or to study. The one by our house has a wonderful little back room with comfy chairs, end tables and free Internet. I like it too because the outside seating is shady and very near a wonderful grass patch for emergencies. After reading the article about their new non-profit "pay what you can restaurants" she now loves it even more. Panera has opened it's third restaurant where diners can pay what they can afford. The very best part of the story is that the community has stepped up to help. A full 60% of the visitors pay the suggested amount. But it gets even better. 20% pay more than the amount on the menu to help offset the costs of the remaining 20% who pay less. If you can't pay at all, the staff suggests you volunteer your time at the cafe helping out the staff. Stories like this give me a little ray of sunshine in my day.
