Posted inAu Bon Pain Bakeries and Baked Products Bread Deaths (Obituaries) Fast Food Industry Mergers, Acquisitions and Divestitures Panera Bread Company Restaurants Rosenthal, Ken (1943-2025) Saint Louis Bread Company St Louis (Mo)
Ken Rosenthal, Founder of Panera Bread’s Forerunner, Dies at 81
He built a small chain of bakery cafes, with sourdough bread as its star. A few years after it was sold, it became nationally famous under a new name.