The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger • Hacker News Board

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#41

Post by NovemberWhiskey » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 11:30 PM UTC

xwdv wrote: post #24

crazygringo wrote: post #19

As an American, I've always been so confused by Pret's sandwiches. Specifically, how they're like 95% bread. Seriously. You get their "famous ham and cheese" and it's a mini baguette with like a single layer of ham and cheese. Like the ham and cheese is a condiment, rather than filling. It's a stretch to call what they sell "sandwiches". It's closer to just flavored bread. And remember -- it's not just sugar that inc…

These sort of places prey on people who have no idea what a proper amount of protein looks like. A single slice of ham is so small an amount it’s practically a rounding error in the overall scheme of a balanced diet.

A Pret cheese and ham baguette has 31g of protein which is more than half of the daily needs of a 180lb man.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#42

Post by celim307 » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 11:33 PM UTC

mortenjorck wrote: post #39

JustARandomGuy wrote: post #26

American here (work in downtown Chicago), I used to get Pret several times a week as one of their stores was right next door to my office. They have delicious sandwiches, bakery items, and fruit cups, but it's very expensive - a croissant and a breakfast sandwich ran close to $10. It's a great place if you want to eat healthy and have a short lunch time, but there are better options to deliver from if you're WFH.

I'll miss them. (If you're not aware, Pret permanently closed all its Chicago locations except UChicago last month: https://chicago.eater.com/2020/8/24/21396276/pret-a-manger-s... ) I just hope Chicgao's own euro-style sandwich chain Hannah's Bretzel survives.

Hannah’s is even more expensive

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#43

Post by TeMPOraL » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 11:34 PM UTC

legerdemain wrote: post #36

AznHisoka wrote: post #32

I always read the name as “Pet a Manager” which makes me never want to step inside one.

Luckily, the name just means "ready to eat" in French. Perhaps they could have done like Panera and renamed themselves to something that wouldn't upset easily confused American diners?

I always misread it the same way and I'm Polish.

English misreads confuse everyone, not just Brits and Americans, because for better or worse, English is the international language. Lingua franca, to make an obvious pun.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#44

Post by mortenjorck » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 11:37 PM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #29

ggm wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've eaten both european and american sandwiches. American ones are certainly better "value for money" but only in the sense that they typically feed a family of four. They're kind-of excessive. the US didn't invent the foot-long sub for no reason, worldwide obesity scores had to be earned.

> that they typically feed a family of four That's true of some things at American sit-down restaurants. But hardly true for a cold sandwich at a sandwich shop. Even a Subway "footlong" club sandwich is just 620 calories. Assuming a 2,000 cal/day diet, that's a little under a third of what you need. Or, in other words, exactly the right size for a balanced lunch if your calorie requirements are on the lesser side. Ho…

The GP is clearly using hyperbole, but there are much more calorific sandwiches at Subway.

From Subway's nutrition datasheet (PDF): http://www.subway.com/~/media/USA/Documents/Nutrition/US_Nut...

There are several standard menu items over 900 calories for a "footlong," with the Chicken & Bacon Ranch Melt coming in at 1,060 calories.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#45

Post by RandallBrown » Thu, Sep 17, 2020, 11:59 PM UTC

renewiltord wrote: post #6

Fast eats like this are total rubbish in the UK. Don't know why. SF is so much better. Walk downstairs, grab a quick sandwich at Working Girls, or Specialty's (now dead), or Chipotle. Pret is like 7-Eleven food. Probably for the best that it dies. Fortunately, lots of food carts out in London that'll benefit.

Oh damn, I had no idea Specialty's went under. I loved their cookies.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#46

Post by shirakawasuna » Fri, Sep 18, 2020, 12:08 AM UTC

crazygringo wrote: post #19

As an American, I've always been so confused by Pret's sandwiches. Specifically, how they're like 95% bread. Seriously. You get their "famous ham and cheese" and it's a mini baguette with like a single layer of ham and cheese. Like the ham and cheese is a condiment, rather than filling. It's a stretch to call what they sell "sandwiches". It's closer to just flavored bread. And remember -- it's not just sugar that inc…

It's also something like $12 and not particularly good.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#47

Post by porknubbins » Fri, Sep 18, 2020, 12:31 AM UTC

I always thought their almond croissants were really good. It makes sense they are from London because Europeans, even the UK seem to take baked goods more seriously than the US.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#48

Post by bfuclusion » Fri, Sep 18, 2020, 12:33 AM UTC

wenc wrote: post #27

renewiltord wrote: post #6

Fast eats like this are total rubbish in the UK. Don't know why. SF is so much better. Walk downstairs, grab a quick sandwich at Working Girls, or Specialty's (now dead), or Chipotle. Pret is like 7-Eleven food. Probably for the best that it dies. Fortunately, lots of food carts out in London that'll benefit.

Maybe a slightly upscale 7-11? I associate Pret with airports for some reason. I’ve eaten at several Pret a Mangers in London and they were ok, nothing to write home about but not bad. Better than a grocery store sandwich. Similar to an Amazon Go sandwich. Better than Subway. Here in Chicago we have a chain called Potbelly that’s pretty good and Pret is definitely below them. (Also it seems the only Pret still open i…

Yeah, Pret is forever centered in my mind as airport food too. Probably because the first one I saw was in one.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#49

Post by edmundsauto » Fri, Sep 18, 2020, 12:49 AM UTC

throrthaway wrote: post #17

Just in case people don't know, although the name sounds French I've literally never seen one in France. I guess it's like Mexico's Taco Bell or something

I think the Bell in Taco Bell was the last name of the founder, Glen Bell.

Re: The Rise and Fall of Pret a Manger

#50

Post by iratewizard » Fri, Sep 18, 2020, 12:52 AM UTC

lordnacho wrote: post #10

My guess from chatting to some of the people in the stores is there's gonna be a bloodbath. Your average food shop is running on what kind of margin? Maybe 20% at best, 15% more commonly? I chatted with a guy who says his business is down 90%. The guy at Subway said something similar. Before the apocalypse, the business made sense because of the sheer number of people walking by. You could pay for the food, the labou…

To be cynical, that's what it looks like when the status quo chooses its victims. This time it hits close to home for everyone because we're all familiar with this sort of loss.