Panda Express facts for kids
Logo used since 2014
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Panda Express location, Midtown Manhattan
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Food service |
| Genre | American Chinese cuisine |
| Founded | October 1983 In Glendale, California, U.S. |
| Founders |
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| Headquarters |
1683 Walnut Grove Avenue, Rosemead, California, U.S.
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Number of locations
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2,400 (2022) |
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Area served
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United States (including Puerto Rico & Guam), Mexico, Canada, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Guatemala, El Salvador, Aruba, Philippines, Germany |
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Key people
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Andrew Cherng (Co-CEO) Peggy Cherng (Co-CEO) |
| Products | American Chinese cuisine |
| Revenue | 6.205 billion (2024) |
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Number of employees
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39,000 (2012) |
| Parent | Panda Restaurant Group |
Panda Express is a popular American fast food restaurant chain that serves American Chinese cuisine. With over 2,400 restaurants, it is the biggest Asian-style restaurant chain in the United States. Most of its locations are in North America and Asia.
When Panda Express first started, its restaurants were usually found in shopping mall food courts. Now, you can find them in many different places. These include stand-alone buildings, universities, airports, and even amusement parks.
The menu features many well-known American-Chinese dishes. Some favorites are orange chicken, Beijing beef, and grilled teriyaki chicken. Some special dishes, like honey walnut shrimp, cost a little extra. The company's main office is in Rosemead, California. Panda Express is a more casual, fast-food version of its sister restaurant, Panda Inn, which is a more formal sit-down restaurant.
Contents
The Story of Panda Express
The company that owns Panda Express is the Panda Restaurant Group. It was started by Andrew Cherng, his wife Peggy Cherng, and Andrew's father, Master Chef Ming Tsai Cherng. Andrew and his father were born in China, while Peggy was born in Burma and grew up in Hong Kong. Andrew and Peggy met while they were students at Baker University in Kansas.
How It All Began
In 1973, Andrew and his father opened their first restaurant, Panda Inn, in Pasadena, California. At first, not many people came to eat there. Andrew had to offer special deals to attract customers. In 1982, Peggy joined the family business.
While running Panda Inn, Andrew met Terry Donahue, who was the head football coach at UCLA. Terry's brother, Dan, worked in real estate. This connection was very important. In 1983, Dan's company invited the Cherngs to open a fast-food version of Panda Inn at the Glendale Galleria mall. That October, the first Panda Express was born. Two years later, a second one opened. From there, the chain grew all across the United States.
A fun fact is that the famous orange chicken recipe was created by a Panda Express chef in Hawaii in 1987.
Growing and Changing
At first, Panda Express was only in mall food courts. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the owners started trying new things. They opened small locations inside Vons supermarkets and then built their first stand-alone restaurant with a drive-through in 1997. Today, most Panda Express restaurants are not in malls.
Peggy Cherng had a background in computer science. She used her skills to help computerize the business early on. This helped the company grow and make sure that the food and service were consistent everywhere.
In 2011, the company had to solve some problems about treating its workers fairly. After this, Panda Express updated its rules and provided better training for its employees to make sure everyone was treated with respect.
By 2017, the Panda Restaurant Group was making over $3 billion a year and had almost 39,000 employees. The Cherngs also opened the Panda Innovation Kitchen in Pasadena. This is a special restaurant where they test new flavors and menu items, like boba milk tea.
In December 2017, the 2,000th Panda Express opened in New York City.
Going Global
Panda Express is not just in the United States. It also has restaurants in many other countries, including:
- Canada
- Mexico
- Guatemala
- El Salvador
- The Philippines
- South Korea
- Japan
- Germany
- Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates
The first international location opened in Mexico City in 2011. Since then, the chain has continued to expand around the world. For example, it opened its first restaurant in the Philippines in 2019 through a partnership with Jollibee Foods Corporation.
In 2022, Panda Express stopped its business operations in Russia because of the conflict in Ukraine. That same year, it opened its first restaurant in Europe at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
Helping the Community
In 1999, Panda Express started a charity program called Panda Cares. The goal of Panda Cares is to help children and communities in need. They raise money, provide food, and offer volunteer services.
Donation boxes were placed in all Panda Express restaurants in 2010. The charity has raised millions of dollars. This money has been used to support programs that teach leadership skills in elementary schools. It has also helped pay for medical care for children through Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
See also
In Spanish: Panda Express para niños
- List of Chinese restaurants
- PF Chang's
External links
- Hoover's Financial Data on the Panda Restaurant Group
