Panera appears as white as cream cheese
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When I go to Einstein Brothers Bagels in the morning for a cup of hot tea, I see black people. Among the cash register, the cappuccino machine and the bagel bar, I can spot multiple black people serving customers.
It's not a big deal. That's also the case with Bruegger's Bagels, Dunkin' Donuts and Au Bon Pain when I stop into any of those places to break up the morning routine.
Sometimes, I can even spot black people in managerial positions. They're ubiquitous in most fast food eateries and have been for a long time. Food tastes the same whether black folks are involved in smearing the cream cheese or not.
A few months ago, a friend told me about some very disturbing allegations against a regional Panera Bread franchisee called Covelli Enterprises. A white manager for the company's Mt. Lebanon location had filed a suit against Covelli, alleging that minorities were only hired for menial tasks at the chain when they were hired at all. Blacks weren't allowed on the cash registers or to have contact with customers.
It seemed like an incredible thing to encounter given how these cases often play out. In recent years, Cracker Barrel, Denny's, Bahama Breeze, Panda Express and even P.F. Chang's have been embroiled in big-money racial discrimination lawsuits brought by former employees. After my friend explained the situation at Panera, my experiences with the chain took on a new light.
Suddenly, I couldn't recall ever having been waited on by a black employee in any capacity at a Panera. Still, even on its best day, my memory is a tricky thing. My anecdotal experience meant nothing because I've never been a regular Panera customer, and I probably wouldn't have noticed the absence of black employees out front without a lawsuit prompting a sense of wonder and indignation.
In the weeks that followed, I visited a few Panera locations fully expecting to see at least one person behind a counter who departed from "The Brady Bunch" ideal. It wasn't an exhaustive survey, but it did convince me that the diversity that I took for granted at other chains was completely missing from any Panera I visited. Still, I was treated courteously at all times. Because my cash is green, it was happily accepted, regardless of denomination.
I have no idea what's going on at Panera or whether Covelli Enterprises really handed down a mandate to its managers not to hire "fat, black or ugly" people, but it doesn't look good. New allegations in a lawsuit by Guy M. Vines, a black man from Castle Shannon, along with prior ones by Scott Donatelli, his former manager who sued in November, paint a picture of a corporate culture that is beyond appalling.
According to Mr. Donatelli, Mr. Vines, who worked at Panera in Mt. Lebanon for nearly two years, was a good employee whom he attempted to reward with a high-profile gig working the register up front. This was allegedly a direct violation of the edict laid down by Sam Covelli, the owner of Covelli Enterprises. According to the two men, Mr. Covelli wants blacks restricted to back-room duties.
Mr. Vines and Mr. Donatelli want to have their lawsuits declared a class action, a move that Covelli Enterprises opposes. Lawyers for Covelli Enterprises counter with their own charges that Mr. Vines and Mr. Donatelli are both disgruntled employees who are retaliating against the company for poor performance reviews. They're also motivated by the "profit motive," according to the company.
Based in Warren, Ohio, Covelli Enterprises is no stranger to discrimination lawsuits. In 2003, the former manager of the Panera in Oakland also claimed in a suit that he was fired for not keeping black employees out of sight.
Last year, another former manager filed suit against Covelli in federal court in Cincinnati charging racial discrimination. The manager said he was fired for hiring a black employee, which was allegedly against company policy.
Covelli Enterprises owns nearly 200 Panera operations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Florida and Kentucky. It is the largest franchisee of Panera Bread in the country, so its policies -- informal or not -- have an impact on hundreds of employees.
This might be a good time for Panera Bread to begin promoting what few black people, fat people and ugly people it has if they're qualified for other jobs in the company. It should also go on a goodwill hiring spree to diversify its front counter operations. People of goodwill don't have to settle for crumbs, even from a bread company.
First Published January 13, 2012 12:00 am
