Au Bon Pain Introduces New Holiday-Inspired Menu

With the holiday season quickly approaching, Au Bon Pain, an internationally recognized leader in the fast-casual category, debuts a new Holiday Menu featuring flavorful new sandwiches for breakfast and lunch, festive cookies, a decadent soup, and a sweet bakery-inspired latte. The updated menu uses comforting, seasonal ingredients to create delicious new limited time offerings like the The Chicken + The Artichoke sandwich, Countryside Herb Omelet breakfast sandwich, and Holiday Linzer Cookie, and brings back guest favorites like rich Lobster & Corn Bisque and Gingerbread Cookies. New Holiday Menu items will be available from November 8 to January 16.

Au Bon Pain's new oven-hot sandwich The Chicken + The Artichoke is a hearty offering bursting with flavor and is perfect for lunch or dinner. Made with pulled chicken, artichoke tapenade, roasted red peppers, fontina cheese, and baby spinach tossed in a lemon shallot vinaigrette, all piled on Au Bon Pain's new freshly baked Rustic Baguette, this sandwich truly makes for a delicious dining experience. The Rustic Baguette, a brand new recipe from Master Baker Agust Gunnarsson, is a true testament to Au Bon Pain's heritage as "the place of good bread," formed by hand, it has an airy, open texture and a classic crisp crust. Also on the new Rustic Baguette is the Countryside Herb Omelet breakfast sandwich, which is full of bright herbs like parsley, chives & tarragon, melty fontina cheese, protein-rich black forest ham, fresh arugula and finished with a lemon dijon vinaigrette. The updated menu also gives an encore performance to a past bestseller, the Lobster & Corn Bisque, an indulgent soup made with sweet lobster and roasted corn simmered in a rich and creamy lobster bisque.

"The items on our new holiday menu were inspired by the rich, familiar flavors of the season and were carefully crafted to give guests a delicious dining experience throughout these cold weather months," said Katherine See, Au Bon Pain's executive chef. "During the holidays, our guests are interested in more traditional, homestyle items like freshly baked cookies and hearty soups and sandwiches, so this new menu was artfully curated to feature items that create an environment that is both festive and indulgent."

The updated menu also features a number of seasonal new bakery items including a Chocolate Almond Croissant, which is an updated version of the flaky classic Almond Croissant now filled with chocolate and topped with chocolate drizzle; a hand decorated Gingerbread Cookie; a Linzer Holiday Cookie that features a Christmas tree cut-out and is filled with raspberry; and buttery, traditional Pecan Meltaways. Guests looking to enjoy a sweet treat can also cozy up to the Gingerbread Latte, a cup of rich espresso blended with gingerbread syrup, topped with frothed milk, and dusted with cinnamon.

To celebrate the season of giving, Au Bon Pain will be hosting a Free Small Hot Coffee Day on Tuesday, November 15, from 2-5pm at participating locations. The fast casual chain is also offering a 2 for $3 deal on all Holiday Cookies and a gift card promotion for the holiday season. Guests who purchase a gift card valued at $25 or more will receive a $5 Bonus Coupon.

The full Holiday Menu includes:

• The Chicken & The Artichoke - on the new rustic baguette - pulled chicken, artichoke tapenade, roasted red peppers, fontina cheese and baby spinach tossed in a lemon shallot vinaigrette
• Countryside Herb Omelet - on the new rustic baguette - omelet with parsley, chives & tarragon, fontina cheese, black forest ham and arugula tossed in a lemon dijon vinaigrette
• Lobster & Corn Bisque - sweet lobster and roasted corn simmered in a rich and creamy lobster bisque
• Chocolate Almond Croissant - our famous flaky almond croissant filled with rich chocolate and topped with chocolate drizzle and shaved almonds
• Gingerbread Cookie - hand decorated, traditional gingerbread cookie with rich molasses flavor
• Linzer Holiday Cookie - holiday linzer cookie with a christmas tree cut-out, raspberry filling and decorated with powdered sugar
• Gingerbread Latte - rich espresso, blended with gingerbread syrup, topped with frothed milk and dusted with cinnamon - hot or iced
• Pecan Meltaways - traditional holiday treat made with creamy butter and pecan chunks

For more information on the new menu or to find an Au Bon Pain café location near you, visit: http://www.aubonpain.com.

About Au Bon Pain
Founded in 1978, Au Bon Pain ("the place of good bread") has grown into an internationally recognized leader in the fast-casual restaurant category. The chain's signature items-sandwiches, breads, pastries, salads, soups and coffee-are served in welcoming café environments emphasizing quick service and hospitality. Au Bon Pain offers consumers a wide array of delicious, nutritional foods that include low-sodium, low-fat, gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian options. Calorie counts are clearly posted on menus and full nutritional information is provided in each café which has helped the brand earn Health magazine's designation as one of America's Top 5 Healthiest Restaurant Chains over the past three years and one of America's Healthiest Restaurant Chains by Grellin.
Au Bon Pain operates in six key trade channels including urban office buildings, hospitals, universities, transportation centers, malls and museums. Au Bon Pain currently operates in more than 300 locations in the U.S. and internationally. Additional information about Au Bon Pain, which is headquartered in Boston, may be found at http://www.aubonpain.com.