Panera Bread Battles Minimum Wage Hikes

EPJ reader and EPJ Daily Alert subscriber Gavin Minnis emails:

I thought you’d be interested to know that the Panera Bread restaurant in Dallas, Texas now offers customers a way to order by tablet (photos below). 

When I walked in to the restaurant today, there was a long line to order the orthodox way. But I looked to my right and saw six tablets that allowed me to order myself. It was fast and convenient. I don’t know Panera Bread’s motivation for using the technology. But clearly labor costs must be part of the decision.