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Panera Bread Is The Largest Provider Of Free WiFi

Posted by timothy on from the and-tasty-breads dept.

ayb11 writes "According to this article, the Panera Bread chain of Bakery/Cafes (think Starbucks that bakes their own bread) is the largest provider of free WiFi in the US. Their web site says, " There are currently 573 Wi-Fi enabled Panera Bread bakery-cafes, from California to Virginia. More are added every day." (Even my retired dad takes his barely-used laptop over there so he can get free refills on coffee.) Their full list of hotspots is here."

11 of 350 comments (clear)

  1. I bet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Offering free wifi costs them a lot of dough.

    1. Re:I bet by buro9 · · Score: 5, Funny

      As puns go they don't baguette much better than that. We can't all have an in-bread ability to come out with such wheaticisms.

      I can see how a bakery chain would knead to branch out it's offerings though.

      Damn, I thought of another pun but now it's scone!

      * Thanks to a few mates for coming up with these truly breadful puns.

    2. Re:I bet by Kenja · · Score: 4, Funny
      "Offering free wifi costs them a lot of dough."

      But I bet having it makes them some bread.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    3. Re:I bet by OECD · · Score: 5, Funny

      Damn, I thought of another pun but now it's scone!

      D'OH!

      (sorry everyone)

      --
      One man's -1 Flamebait is another man's +5 Funny.
  2. got fibre? by ackthpt · · Score: 5, Funny
    A friend was lamenting how overloaded and lagged the local free WiFi was. Lag always put me in mind of a constipated network. Seems a bakery chain would have the fibre thing covered to keep your traffic moving smoothly, inside and out.

    "uuuugghhh need more bran"

    --

    A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
  3. If only by krgallagher · · Score: 5, Funny
    "There are currently 573 Wi-Fi enabled Panera Bread bakery-cafes, from California to Virginia. More are added every day."

    If only they served alcohol.

    --

    Insert Generic Sig Here:

  4. Starbucks of bread? by athakur999 · · Score: 4, Funny
    think Starbucks that bakes their own bread


    So their bread is overpriced and burnt but served by attractive female bakers so you keep coming back?

    --
    "People that quote themselves in their signatures bother me" - athakur999
  5. Panera! by dr_dank · · Score: 4, Funny

    I listened to those guys all the time growing up. Shame about their guitarist.

    Now whats this about bread?

    --
    Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
    1. Re:Panera! by NoData · · Score: 5, Funny

      Dude! Panera rockz! My favorite? "Vulgar Display of Flour."

  6. Good for network testing by ewg · · Score: 5, Funny

    I used a Panera Bread hotspot last weekend to test my employer's new VPN client software. Needed an environment different from my home to isolate a problem.

    Two cups of "Colombian Supremo Reserva del Patrón" later, well, I hadn't solved the problem, but I was certainly focused on it.

    --
    org.slashdot.post.SignatureNotFoundException: ewg
  7. What about linksys by Wesley+Felter · · Score: 5, Funny

    I thought "linksys" was the largest provider of free WiFi in the world...