Panda Express

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Panda Express
Type Private
Founded 1983
Founder(s) Status
Headquarters Rosemead, California, U.S.
Number of locations 1,197 (January 2009)
Area served Worldwide
Industry Foodservice
Products Chinese cuisine
Revenue $1 Billion (2007)
Employees 13,000 (2007)
Parent Panda Restaurant Group Inc.
Website http://www.pandaexpress.com/
A stand-alone Panda Express restaurant in Oakland, California with drive-through window
A mall food court Panda Express at Ala Moana Center

Panda Express is a fast casual restaurant chain serving Americanized Chinese cuisine. It operates mainly inside the United States, in shopping malls, supermarkets, airports, train stations, strip plazas, theme parks, stadiums, college campuses and The Pentagon. It is one of the largest such chains of Chinese fast food restaurants in the United States.

In 2004, the company began opening stand-alone restaurants with drive-through windows.[1] Panda Express has 1264 restaurants covering 38 states and Puerto Rico, as well as 2 locations in Japan.[2]

The chain offers a wide variety of food such as Orange Chicken, Beijing Beef, Mandarin Chicken, and Kung Pao Chicken. Combo meals are served with fried rice, steamed rice, chow mein, or mixed vegetables. No MSG is added to any of the items at Panda Express after it has been delivered to the restaurant, nor does Panda Express purchase from any suppliers who add MSG prior to delivery.[3]

Panda Express is headquartered in Rosemead, California. It is a faster, more casual equivalent of the more upscale Panda Inn, from which the chain concept was derived.

Contents

[edit] History

The Panda Restaurant Group, parent company of Panda Inn, Panda Express & Hibachi-San, was founded by Andrew and Peggy Cherng and Andrew's father, Master Chef Ming Tsai Cherng, all of whom used to live in the Yangzhou region of China's Jiangsu province.[4] They started their first Panda Inn restaurant in 1973 in Pasadena, California.

In 1983, Donahue Schriber Real Estate, the manager of the Glendale Galleria, invited the Cherngs to develop a fast-food version of Panda Inn for the Galleria's food court, and Panda Express was born.[5] The chain has steadily expanded across the United States since then.

In 2007, The Panda Restaurant Group had annual sales of over $1 billion and over 13,000 employees.[6]

In 2008, Andrew Cherng and his wife, Peggy, were the recipients of the 2008 City of Angels Award, given by the LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce,[7] for their contributions to the greater Los Angeles area.[8]

Andrew Cherng '70 and his wife Peggy Tsiang Cherng '68 are alumni of Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas.[9]

On November 23 2009, it was announced that Panda Express had selected Trusonic to provide asian themed background music to its store locations.[10]

[edit] Overview

With approximately 1,054[11] locations, it is the largest Chinese fast food restaurant chain in the United States. It is also one of the few fast-food chains in the United States to pay its employees significantly more than federal- and state-mandated minimum wages.[12]

The company's highest revenue location, bringing in over US$4 million annually, is located at the Ala Moana Center food court in Honolulu, Hawaii.[13]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Bruce Haring, "Panda gains higher visibility for chain amid shift from malls, food courts," Nation's Restaurant News, 9 August 2004, 6.
  2. ^ "Panda Express Restaurant Locations". http://www.pandaexpress.com/locations/locator.aspx. Retrieved 2007-12-17. 
  3. ^ Panda Express FAQ - "Panda Express does not add MSG to any of our entrees or sides and we do not purchase products from suppliers who add MSG. However, glutamate is found naturally in some ingredients."
  4. ^ Panda Restaurant Group History
  5. ^ James Flanigan, "Cooking Up a Powerhouse of Mongolian Fast Food," Los Angeles Times, 8 October 2001, C1.
  6. ^ Panda Restaurant Group information page
  7. ^ LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce website
  8. ^ "Andrew and Peggy Cherng of Panda Restaurant Group Receive City of Angels Award Honoring Contributions to the Los Angeles Area", Business Wire, February 8, 2008.
  9. ^ "Cherngs honored for contributions in L.A. area", Baker Pride alumni magazine, Baker University, Baldwin City, Kansas, Spring 2008 issue.
  10. ^ "Panda Express Selects Trusonic(R) to Provide In-Store Background Music"
  11. ^ Bartiromo, Maria (November 2007). "Positive Thinkers". http://www.rd.com/content/the-success-story-of-panda-express/. 
  12. ^ Krantz, Matt (2006-09-13). "Panda Express spreads Chinese food across USA". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2006-09-10-entrepreneur-panda-express_x.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-17. 
  13. ^ Shimabukuro, Betty (2007-01-17). "Orange Chicken on the house". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. http://starbulletin.com/2007/01/17/features/story01.html. Retrieved 2007-01-17. 

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

  • Bernstein, Charles, 'Manchu Leads the Working Race,' Restaurants & Institutions, August 1, 1994, p. 30.
  • Cebrzynski, Gregg, 'Panda Express Breaks TV Ad Campaign as Test to Raise Brand Awareness,' Nation's Restaurant News, August 9, 1999, p. 11.
  • Farkas, David, 'Fast and Friendly,' Chain Leader, March 2000, p. 72.
  • Glover, Kara, 'Success on Oriental (Food) Express,' Los Angeles Business Journal, September 25, 1995, p. 21.
  • Marchetti, Michele, and Alisson, Lucas, 'Creating Panda-monium,' Sales & Marketing Management, January 1996, p. 14.
  • Martin, Richard, 'Panda Express: Bullish about the Bear,' Nation's Restaurant News, May 16, 1994, p. 86.
  • ------, 'Top Chi-Chi's, El Torito Execs Tackle Panda Push,' Nation's Restaurant News, August 7, 1995, p. 18
  • Walkup, Carolyn, 'Panda Express Promo Targets Takeout Business,' Nation's Restaurant News, February 28, 1994, p. 7.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panda_Express"