Panera Stopping Sales of 'Charged Lemonade' Blamed for Publix Worker's Death

Restaurant Chain Faces Three Lawsuits

Before his death, Dennis Brown was a regular at Panera Bread on Fleming Island. That’s where he ate his last meal on Oct. 9, 2023.

His family says the highly caffeinated lemonade at the Fleming Island Panera Bread restaurant killed Dennis Brown. This week Panera announced it will no longer sell the “charged lemonade” that a Publix employee drank just before he died.

Brown’s family sued the Delaware chain in December. It was the second alleged Panera lemonade death that has gone to court. Two months earlier, the family of Sara Katz sued Panera, alleging the University of Pennsylvania student with an ailing heart died from drinking the same lemonade.

A third lawsuit alleged that a Panera customer suffered “irreversible health complications” from consuming the drink.

On the Way Out

In January, Panera removed charged lemonades from its self-serve stations but continued to sell them from behind the counter.

Within a couple weeks, the trio of charged lemonades will be gone altogether, according to Panera. At the same time new drinks will be introduced offering low-sugar and low-caffeine options, including promegranate hibiscus tea, blueberry lavender lemonade, citrus punch and a tropical green smoothie.

In court, the company continues to deny any that the drinks caused any deaths or injury.

Dennis Brown was “an independent 46-year-old man living with a chromosomal deficiency disorder, developmental delay, and ADHD,” according to the lawsuit, filed by his next of kin. He also suffered from high-blood pressure.

Back on October 9, after his shift at Publix in Fleming Island had ended, Brown walked across the parking lot to Panera Bread and drank a charged lemonade with his meal. He died of a heart attack while walking home.