Leeann Chin facts for kids
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| Industry | Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1980 in Minnetonka, Minnesota |
| Founder | Leeann Chin |
| Headquarters | Bloomington, Minnesota |
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Number of locations
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More than 50 |
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Area served
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Minnesota, North Dakota |
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Key people
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Mike Loney,COO John Tvedt ( VP) |
| Owner | Lorne Goldberg |
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Number of employees
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1,000 |
Leeann Chin is a popular American Asian restaurant chain. It serves quick and tasty meals, like a fast-food place. You can find over 50 Leeann Chin restaurants, mostly in the Midwest, especially around Minneapolis-Saint Paul.
The chain was started by a talented woman named Leeann Chin. She got help from Carl Pohlad, a banker, and even actor Sean Connery. Leeann Chin restaurants have won awards for "Best Chinese Food" and "Best Takeout Food." In 2011, a website called FastCasual.com even listed it as one of the top 100 fast casual restaurants in the country.
Today, the company is owned by Lorne Goldberg. He is a financier from Los Angeles who also owns other well-known Asian restaurant chains like Pick Up Stix and Mandarin Express.
Leeann Chin offers many delicious choices. You can find chicken, beef, and shrimp dishes. These are made in different styles, like Mongolian, Hunan, and Sichuan, ranging from mild to spicy. The restaurant also has lighter, low-calorie options. Plus, they have their own special frozen yogurt called Red Cherry.
Contents
The Story of Leeann Chin
How the Restaurant Chain Began
The Leeann Chin restaurant chain was founded by Leeann Chin herself. She was a Chinese immigrant who moved to Minnesota in 1957. Leeann Chin opened her very first restaurant in Minnetonka, Minnesota, in 1980. A few years later, in 1984, she opened another location in St. Paul.
Changes in Ownership
In 1984, a big company called General Mills bought the Leeann Chin restaurants and the brand name. General Mills had big plans to open Leeann Chin restaurants all over the country. However, some new locations they opened in Chicago did not do very well. Because of this, General Mills stopped their plans for national expansion.
In 1988, Leeann Chin Inc. bought the restaurants and the name back from General Mills. They got help from a company called Capital Dimensions Venture Fund to make this happen.
New Ownership and Growth
In 2007, Lorne Goldberg bought the Leeann Chin chain. He bought it through his company, Mandarin Holdings, which is based in Los Angeles. After buying the chain, Goldberg invested about $8 million. This money was used to make the restaurants look nicer and to improve the menu. He added new food items that were first created for his Mandarin Express restaurants.
These new menu items and the updated restaurant designs quickly helped sales go up by about 20 percent. Goldberg also decided to stop operating takeout counters inside Lunds & Byerlys grocery stores.
Expanding to New Places
In 2011, Leeann Chin Inc. started to open restaurants outside of its main area in Minnesota's Twin Cities. They opened a restaurant in Fargo, North Dakota. As of 2024, Leeann Chin has restaurants in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa. You can also find locations in Maryland at Baltimore-Washington International Airport and in Atlanta at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Healthier Food Choices
In 2013, the Leeann Chin chain introduced its "AsiaFit" menu. This menu offers a selection of stir-fry dishes that are low in calories. This was part of a bigger trend where many restaurants started offering lighter and healthier meal options.
Lorne Goldberg has shared that he plans to own and help the Leeann Chin brand grow for many years to come.
