Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Apr. 01, 2014

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

The unaudited consolidated financial statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which consist of the accounts of Panera Bread Company and its wholly owned direct and indirect subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”), have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”), under the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and on a basis substantially consistent with the audited consolidated financial statements of the Company as of and for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 (“fiscal 2013”). These unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with such audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, as filed with the SEC on February 19, 2014. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Consolidated Balance Sheet data as of December 31, 2013 was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP contained herein.

The unaudited consolidated financial statements include all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments and accruals) that management considers necessary for a fair statement of the Company's financial position and comprehensive income for the interim periods presented. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of the results for any other interim period or for the entire fiscal year.

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In July 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2013-11, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists”. This guidance requires an unrecognized tax benefit related to a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss or a tax credit carryforward to be presented as a reduction to a deferred tax asset, unless the tax benefit is not available at the reporting date to settle any additional income taxes under the tax law of the applicable tax jurisdiction. The guidance became effective at the beginning of the Company's first quarter of fiscal 2014 and did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.