Ron Shaich

16 statements across 3 episodes · 3 bullish · 1 bearish · 2 people on the record · first statement Apr 30, 2018 by Ron Shaich · said 6 times in 2 episodes since 2023 · across every show →

On the record as a speaker too: Ron Shaich's record, appearances and statements → this page counts the times other people say the name.

Mentions by year

brought up most by Guy Raz (6)

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2025 4 mentions in 1 episode

Faherty Brand: Alex and Mike Faherty. How Jersey Shore + Manhattan Chic grew to 80 stores. Oct 13, 2025 · 4 mentions · from 1:01:23
every mention in 2025, scene by scene →

2023 2 mentions in 1 episode

CAVA: Ted Xenohristos and Brett Schulman Nov 27, 2023 · 2 mentions · from 1:00:28
every mention in 2023, scene by scene →

every mention, scene by scene, with the transcript →

Everything said about Ron Shaich, oldest first

Apr 30, 2018

Assertion Partly supported

Shaich controlled 17% of Panera Bread's voting stock

“No, I, you know what, the truth is, I probably could, because I voted 17% of the stock, and I had this reputation, this credibility.”

Ron Shaich Apr 30, 2018 ▶ 33:45 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich

Apr 30, 2018

Assertion Contradicted

Shaich: VCs controlled 3 of 5 board votes during Au Bon Pain divestment fight

“It was a huge boardroom struggle, because I had two votes, our venture capitalists had three, and all of them had invested in Au Bon Pain.”

Ron Shaich Apr 30, 2018 ▶ 27:26 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich

Apr 30, 2018 negative

Insight

Shaich: Public market short-termism forces CEOs into cost-cutting over transformative bets

“There's a pervasive sense of short-termism that has invaded our markets. The reality is, when you have such short-term pressure on our CEOs, they react. And what that ends up meaning is cost-cutting. And they avoid the kind of transformative events that drove …”

Ron Shaich Apr 30, 2018 ▶ 34:03 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich

Apr 30, 2018

Insight

Shaich: Business is a political campaign that never ends

“But in so many ways, running a business is no different than a campaign. In fact, a campaign is a business that, that essentially has one day in which it ends. A business is a campaign that goes on and never ends.”

Ron Shaich Apr 30, 2018 ▶ 5:17 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich

Apr 30, 2018

Assertion Supported

Shaich: Took 60% equity to merge Cookie Jar into Au Bon Pain

“I came to them and said, look it, I think I can fix this. You give me 60% of the company. You and your investors keep 40%. I'll put my cookie store, which was making money, in with your three Obonpens, and we'll create a new company.”

Ron Shaich Apr 30, 2018 ▶ 13:05 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich

Apr 30, 2018 bullish

Assertion Supported

Shaich: Panera Bread ultimately sold for $315 per share

“No, and it ended up selling for 315 a share.”

Ron Shaich Apr 30, 2018 ▶ 28:52 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich

Apr 30, 2018 positive

Assertion Contradicted

Shaich: Panera opened a new store every three days by 2009

“Basically every three days.”

Ron Shaich Apr 30, 2018 ▶ 30:17 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich

Apr 30, 2018

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Shaich: Au Bon Pain relied on an auto mechanic for equipment repairs

“We didn't even have the ability to maintain our equipment, and I would use my auto mechanic to help fix the equipment. I didn't know what else to call, and we had a dough divider that was essentially being held together with bailing wire and paper clips.”

Ron Shaich Apr 30, 2018 ▶ 14:35 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich

Apr 30, 2018

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Shaich: Au Bon Pain dried spinach in clothes dryers until one exploded

“We put defrosted spinach in clothes dryers letting it run off the water was a great idea until one day we blew the top off the dryer and ended up with spinach in, in all 3000 square feet of the production space.”

Ron Shaich Apr 30, 2018 ▶ 14:11 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich

Feb 10, 2020 neutral

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Early Au Bon Pain dried spinach in clothes dryers until one exploded

“But we put defrosted spinach in clothes dryers letting it run off the water was a great idea until one day we blew the top off the dryer and ended up with spinach in In all 3000 square feet of the production space.”

Ron Shaich Feb 10, 2020 ▶ 14:48 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich (2018)

Feb 10, 2020

Disclosure

Shaich took 60 percent equity in the merger with Au Bon Pain

“You give me 60% of the company. You and your investors keep 40%. I'll put my cookie store, which was making money, in with your three Obonpens, and we'll create a new company.”

Ron Shaich Feb 10, 2020 ▶ 13:46 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich (2018)

Feb 10, 2020

Assertion Not publicly verifiable

Shaich won a board battle with two votes against VCs' three

“It was a huge boardroom struggle, because I had two votes, our venture capitalists had three, and all of them had invested in Au Bon Pain.”

Ron Shaich Feb 10, 2020 ▶ 27:59 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich (2018)

Feb 10, 2020

Assertion Not publicly verifiable

Shaich owned six times more stock than co-founder Louis Kane

“I owned, you know, six times more stock than him, but most of the community at that point undoubtedly thought the company was Lou's.”

Ron Shaich Feb 10, 2020 ▶ 33:09 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich (2018)

Feb 10, 2020 neutral

Disclosure

Shaich funded his first Boston cookie store with $100,000 initial equity

“I had about 25,000 dollars. My dad essentially lent me, gave me 75,000 dollars, and that 100,000 dollars became the grub steak, the equity, that allowed us to build that first 400 square foot cookie store. In downtown Boston.”

Ron Shaich Feb 10, 2020 ▶ 8:28 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich (2018)

Feb 10, 2020 positive

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Shaich: Au Bon Pain pioneered the fast-casual restaurant category

“What the bakery cafe was an alternative between down and dirty fast food. And fine dining. And for people who were working in white collar jobs increasingly in urban settings, this was the first example of what we later came to call fast casual.”

Ron Shaich Feb 10, 2020 ▶ 19:58 Panera Bread/Au Bon Pain: Ron Shaich (2018)

Nov 27, 2023

Disclosure

Panera founder Ron Shaich helped engineer CAVA's acquisition of Zoës Kitchen

“Zoës had approached him, and he said, you know, what do you think about if our investors put together the capital, we acquire it, and give it to you, Brett, and your team?”

Brett Schulman Nov 27, 2023 ▶ 1:00:57 CAVA: Ted Xenohristos and Brett Schulman

Ron Shaich

Mentions by year

Everything said about Ron Shaich, oldest first

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