Don't bother coming later in the evening and expecting anything. Their hours say they close at 9pm, but what that means is that they soft-close at 8:30 and treat you like garbage if you expect anything past that.
I work late nights, like a lot of people do. I like having a place to go where I can unwind and relax, or do private work with free wifi. I'm not at Panera every day, like some regulars seem to be, but I visit it around twice a week, sometimes more.
And every single time, for well over a year, they've treated me very poorly once closing time approaches. It's late, I get that, and you want to leave, I get that too. I'm not unreasonable. I'm not complaining about customer service, or being waited on. I'm complaining about buying a drink from them, being handed a cup after being rung up, and then finding out that I can't fill it with anything but tap water from the bathroom sink, because they've already disassembled the drink machine.
They shouldn't sell customers something if they're not able to fulfill the sale. I'm not buying a plastic cup, I'm buying a drink, and until 9pm, I have every right to expect to be able to get that drink. It shouldn't matter if it's 8, 8:30, 8:45, or even 8:59.
I have no way of knowing what they're being asked to do on the back end. Maybe it's not their fault. I like most of the employees there, they seem like good people. But you will consistently get treated like a vagrant if you're there past a certain point. They act like they close at 8:30, and you're now lingering around and asking for things after closing time. That's a managerial problem. That's the fault of the managers. Whoever is in charge of handling the closing, that's their issue.
And it's not a Panera Bread problem, either, because other Paneras don't do this. I've been to others out of state, and they respect the 9pm closing time. The Panera Bread on Jefferson also doesn't start closing until their actual closing time at 9. It's just the CNU Panera that does this.
As someone who worked in retail a long time ago, it feels like someone is trying to cut corners. Like they're trying to leave the registers open, but they close off the kitchen, the drink machines, and everything else, so they can leave early. And while I can't prove that's happening, that is what it looks like. And that's dishonest. It's bad customer service. They shouldn't be taking carry-out orders, selling drinks and pastries, and then refusing to fulfill their end of the deal just because their shift is almost over.
tl;dr, if you work late shift or are just getting off of work at 7:30 or 8, don't bother with the CNU Panera. If you must have Panera food or atmosphere, go to the one on Jefferson instead. They actually stay open until 9, and don't treat you like a second-class citizen for ordering something at 8:35.
To the CNU Panera: Don't treat paying customers like this. If I walk into the door at 8:50, you're still open, and I should still be able to order a sandwich to go. I should still be able to use the drink machine if I buy a drink. It isn't unreasonable to expect a restaurant to serve me if they're still open, and it also isn't unreasonable to expect to be treated like a human being either. If you refuse to change your ways, then at least change your listed hours to say you close at 8:30, so that way you're honest about what people should expect if they show up at 8:45.