“We bake fresh and we’re a 24-hours-a-day location,” says Keith Miller, an operations manager. “We’re a café, bakery and restaurant.” (Click the "VCU Medical" link on Au Bon Pain's website to see a menu.)

Au Bon Pain opened at the medical center on June 29, the eighth location in Virginia and first in the Richmond area. Accompanying this, a production facility opened at the same time not far from the hospital.

The French-inspired “boulangerie” features café-style foods and produces an assortment of fresh goods that can provide grab-and-go meals for hospital staff and visitors. Many of its salads, soups and wraps are ready-made, but the mostly self-service café also has its own deli counter, where a variety of sandwiches can be made to order. Those include anything from a ham and swiss to a turkey-cranberry-Brie sandwich.

The café has an extensive menu that varies from location to location. “We’re excited to be a part of the VCU and MCV hospital,” says Miller. “We’ve been a welcomed addition by everyone who has been here to see us.”