<Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> panerabread.com </Td> </Tr> <P> Panera Bread Company is an American chain of bakery - café fast casual restaurants in the United States and Canada . Its headquarters are in Sunset Hills, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, and operates as Saint Louis Bread Company in the St. Louis metropolitan area . Offerings include soups, salads, pasta, sandwiches, specialty drinks, and bakery items . </P> <P> St. Louis Bread was founded by Ken Rosenthal in 1987 when he opened the first location in Kirkwood, Missouri . In 1993, Au Bon Pain Co. purchased the St. Louis Bread Company . In 1997, Au Bon Pain changed the company name to Panera, a word that has roots meaning "bread basket" in Latin . At the same time, the St. Louis Bread Company was renovating its 20 bakery - cafés in the St. Louis area . </P> <P> In May 1999, to expand Panera Bread into a national restaurant, Au Bon Pain Co. sold its other chains, including Au Bon Pain, which is now owned by Compass Group North America . Panera Bread moved into its new headquarters in Richmond Heights, Missouri in 2000 . The company operates or franchises more than 1900 Panera Bread bakery - cafés in 46 states and 20 facilities that deliver fresh dough to the bakery - cafés every day . Panera Bread's CEO is Ron Shaich . </P>

When did st louis bread company become panera