ST. LOUIS, April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Panera Bread Company (Nasdaq: PNRA) today reported that the Board of Directors has approved a 2-for-1 stock split that will be distributed in the form of a stock dividend subject to shareholder approval to increase the authorized number of Class A and Class B shares.

The shareholder vote will be in conjunction with the Company’s annual meeting to be held on June 6, 2002. If the shareholders approve the authorization of additional shares, the stock dividend will distributed to the shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 10, 2002, with a payable date of June 24, 2002.

Ron Shaich, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “This stock split is another indication of our confidence in our future results driven by the consumers’ strong positive reaction to our concept across the country. We continue to believe that we are in the early stages of growth for our concept.”