Panera Bread brings back the bagels that were discontinued during its menu revamp

Panera Bread is adding more menu items to its newly revamped menu — this time, a lineup of avocado toast, a spicy grilled chicken sandwich, and a new grilled cheese join the evolving menu at the St. Louis-based fast-casual chain.

Panera is also bringing back sesame seed and blueberry bagels “by popular demand,” after the bagel flavors were discontinued during the brand’s initial menu overhaul this spring.  

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The new menu items include:

• The Spicy Fiesta Chicken Sandwich- Panera’s grilled take on the spicy chicken sandwich trend, this menu item features grilled chicken, white cheddar cheese, sweet peppers, cilantro, roasted corn, and a new creamy salsa verde spread on ciabatta bread (starting at $11.59)
• Kickin’ Grilled Cheese- a LTO item that marries Panera’s classic grilled cheese (with American and white cheddar cheeses on white bread) with the new creamy salsa verde spread (starting at $7.49)
• Classic Avo- The classic avocado toast features a chunky avocado spread on country rustic sourdough bread with everything-bagel seasoning, sea salt and pepper (starting at $3.49)
• Garden Avo- This remix of the avocado toast features sliced tomatoes and drizzled garlic aioli, in addition to the everything bagel seasoning, sea salt, and pepper on top of country rustic sourdough bread 

This spring, when Panera introduced its food makeover, the brand also removed several items from the menu, including flatbreads, Mediterranean bowls, turkey chili, Asian sesame salad with chicken, and more. While sesame seed and blueberry bagels were previously on the discontinued list, Panera said they are making a return “in response to guest feedback.”

Related: Panera Bread upgrades its breakfast menu with bacon breakfast sandwiches and cinnamon roll creations

When these items were originally taken off the menu, there was criticism from Panera fans on social media:

It's not uncommon for restaurant chains to bring back discontinued menu items in the age of social media trends, when customers missing old favorites can rally support for companies to reconsider removing them from the menu. Whether they’re brought back years later like Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza, or just a few months later like Panera’s sesame and blueberry bagels, restaurants can use menu comebacks as a marketing tactic to lure lapsed customers, or even brand superfans.

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