EXHIBIT 99.1 PRESS RELEASE Contact: William W. Moreton Chief Financial Officer Phone: 314-633-7123 PANERA BREAD COMPANY TO PRESENT AT 2002 RBC CAPITAL MARKETS CONSUMER CONFERENCE St. Louis, MO September 30, 2002 -- Panera Bread Company (Nasdaq: PNRA) will be presenting at the 2002 RBC Capital Markets Consumer Conference to be held in Orlando on Wednesday, October 2, 2002 at 3:35 PM EDT. An audio webcast of the presentation will be available over the Internet at http://www.twst.com/econf/mm/dr9/pnra.html. A replay will be available for 30 days.