Starting next month, Panera is introducing a coffee subscription plan that will allow customers unlimited access to select coffee and tea beverages for just $8.99 a month, plus taxes.
The plan, called MyPanera+Coffee, is only open to members of the chain's rewards program, MyPanera, but if you're signed up, you can use it to get drinks at more than 2,100 Panera cafes across the U.S.
"Coffee is an important daily ritual for so many," Niren Chaudhary, Panera's CEO, said in a press release announcing the program. "We kept asking ourselves, why can't it be more accessible, more affordable? Moreover, could unlimited coffee translate to unlimited optimism?"
Panera first tested the coffee subscription service at nearly 450 restaurants in three states before the nationwide rollout.
Both hot and iced coffees, as well as hot tea, of any size are included in the plan, so members will be able to switch up their morning routines. Four different coffee blends will be available, including Panera's signature light and dark roasts, a hazelnut roast and decaf.
The press release also noted that Panera will no longer have an upcharge for plant-based milks like almond milk.
For people who drink a lot java, the plan could theoretically save devoted drinkers at least $50 a month, and even hundreds a year. While prices for a cup of Panera coffee vary across the country, many locations charge between $2.50 to $2.95 for a large hot coffee.
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There's only one catch to the "unlimited" promise: The subscription includes just one cup of coffee every two hours. And even though the program is only open to MyPanera members, the program is free to join and customers can sign up for it online or through their smartphone.
The subscription service will be available nationwide starting, Monday, March 2, which just happens to be when Wendy's revamped breakfast menu launches.