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{{Advert|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox Company
{{Infobox Company
| name = Panda Express
| name = Panda Express

Revision as of 00:31, 2 February 2014

Panda Express
Company typePrivate
IndustryFoodservice
Founded1983
FounderAndrew Cherng
Peggy Cherng
Ming Tsai Cherng
Headquarters
1683 Walnut Grove Ave., Rosemead, California 91770 U.S. (626-799-9898)[1]
Number of locations
1,600 (December 2013) [2]
Area served
United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada [3]
ProductsAmerican Chinese cuisine
Revenue$1.5 billion (2011) [4]
Number of employees
19,000 (2011) [5]
ParentPanda Restaurant Group Inc.
Websitepandaexpress.com
A stand-alone Panda Express restaurant in Oakland, California with drive-through window
A mall food court Panda Express at Ala Moana Center in Hawaii

Panda Express is a fast casual restaurant chain serving American Chinese styled cuisine. It operates mainly inside the United States, in casinos, shopping malls, toll plazas, supermarkets, airports, railroad stations, strip malls, theme parks, stadiums, college campuses and The Pentagon. It is the largest chain of Asian fast food restaurants in the United States.

In 2004, the company began opening stand-alone restaurants with drive-through windows.[6]

Panda Express has 1,600+ restaurants in the United States in 42 states and Puerto Rico.[2] Panda Express locations also formerly existed in Japan.[7] On December 28th, 2013, the first Panda Express location in Canada opened its doors at the Heartland Town Centre in Mississauga, Ontario.

The chain offers a variety of food such as the popular orange chicken, Beijing beef, Teriyaki 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.[8]

Panda Express has its headquarters in Rosemead, California.[9] It is a faster, casual representation of the more upscale Panda Inn, from which the chain concept was derived.

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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

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,[13] for their contributions to the greater Los Angeles area.[14]

Andrew Cherng '70 and his wife Peggy Tsiang Cherng '68 are alumni of Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas.[15] Peggy Cherng also received her B.S. degree in applied mathematics from Oregon State University in 1971, and her M.S. in Computer Science and doctoral degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia.[16] Andrew Cherng also received his M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Missouri.[17]

On November 23, 2009, it was announced that Panda Express had selected Trusonic to provide Asian themed background music to its store locations.[18]

On the ABC News TV program Nightline, April 18, 2011, there was a feature segment on Panda Express and its success. The segment described how Andrew Cherng encourages his workers and management to go through self-help programs emphasizing Landmark Education.[19]

In June 2013, it was announced that the restaurant chain will pay $150,000 to settle an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission action on behalf of at least three female teenagers who were allegedly sexually harassed between 2007 and 2009 by one male kitchen supervisor in Kauai, Hawaii. In a statement from the EEOC commended Panda Express for working with the EEOC to correct the lapses in dealing with sexual harassment. [20]

Overview

With approximately 1,600+[21] locations, it is the largest Chinese fast food restaurant chain in the United States. Andrew Cherng feels that Panda Express food needs more care and concern than other fast food restaurants. Panda Express tries to pay employees $1-2 more per hour than other nearby fast-food restaurants to get employees to put the extra care and concern into the food.[22]

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.[23]

References

  1. ^ About (Panda History 'Fact Sheet')
  2. ^ a b The Panda Story: 2011, Pandaexpress.com Accessed: Aug. 4, 2012
  3. ^ Panda Express (Mexico) site
  4. ^ Careers: Sales
  5. ^ Careers: Employees
  6. ^ Bruce Haring, "Panda gains higher visibility for chain amid shift from malls, food courts," Nation's Restaurant News, 9 August 2004, 6.
  7. ^ "Building Panda". Archived in 2000.
  8. ^ [1]. 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.
  9. ^ "Contact Us." Panda Express. Retrieved on February 26, 2010.
  10. ^ Panda Restaurant Group History
  11. ^ James Flanigan, "Cooking Up a Powerhouse of Chinese Fast Food," Los Angeles Times, 8 October 2001, C1.
  12. ^ Panda Restaurant Group information page
  13. ^ LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce website
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ "Cherngs honored for contributions in L.A. area", Baker Pride alumni magazine, Baker University, Baldwin City, Kansas, Spring 2008 issue.
  16. ^ "OSU ALUMNI FELLOWS 2000: OSU honors veterinarian, animal nutrition researcher and president of Panda Management, Oregon Stater Association News, Oregon State University, 2000
  17. ^ "Profile: Andrew Cherng", Fremont College, Board of Advisors.
  18. ^ "Panda Express Selects Trusonic(R) to Provide In-Store Background Music", PR Newswire Association, November 23, 2009
  19. ^ Berman, John; Rosenberg, Sarah, "Panda Express: Self-Help Courses and Zumba Are Recipe for Success? CEO Says Motivational Forums, Not Orange Chicken, Make His Business Successful", ABC News Nightline, April 18, 2011
  20. ^ U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (June 3, 2013). "Panda Express Agrees to Early Settlement with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to Resolve Sexual Harassment Suit". The National Law Review. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  21. ^ Bartiromo, Maria (November 2007). "Positive Thinkers".
  22. ^ Krantz, Matt (2006-09-13). "Panda Express spreads Chinese food across USA". USA Today. Retrieved 2010-11-10.
  23. ^ Shimabukuro, Betty (2007-01-17). "Orange Chicken on the house". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 2007-01-17.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Panda Express.
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