History
The Panda Restaurant Group, parent company of Panda Inn, Panda Express, and Hibachi-San, was founded by Andrew Cherng, Peggy Cherng and Andrew's father, Master Chef Ming Tsai Cherng.[8] Andrew Cherng and his father are Chinese born, while Peggy was born in Burma and raised in Hong Kong.[9] Both Andrew and Peggy Cherng are alumni of Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas (where they first met).[10][11]
Andrew went into business with his father in the United States in 1973, opening their first Panda Inn restaurant in Pasadena, California.[9][10] At the beginning, business was lacking to the degree that Andrew had to offer special deals and freebies so that customers would dine at Panda Inn.[12] In 1982, Peggy joined Andrew in the restaurant business.[9] While operating Panda Inn, Andrew became acquainted with then-UCLA head football coach Terry Donahue, as well as Terry's brother Dan, who happened to be in the real estate business.[9] It was because of this connection that 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 launched that October.[13] A second location was opened two years later at the Westside Pavilion in 1985.[14] The chain has steadily expanded across the United States since then. Chef Andy Kao claims to have developed the original Chinese-American orange chicken recipe at a Panda Express in Hawaii in 1987.[15]At first, Panda Express restaurants were found solely in food courts in major shopping malls.[9] During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Cherngs began experimenting with supermarket-based branches, through a deal with Vons, and then stand-alone restaurant locations.[9] In 1997, the company opened its first stand-alone, drive-through restaurant, in Hesperia, California.[16] Today less than 2% of its restaurants are in malls.[17]
In the late 2000s, the Cherngs began implementing play areas, known as the Panda Express Play Places, which had been developed in the late 90's by their business partner, Reginald Schwaab. The Play Places were a major success, primarily on the East Coast of America, where the chain continued to succeed. Due to COVID and increased costs regarding upkeep, the play places were removed from the chain in August 2020.
Because Peggy had worked for several years as a software designer and engineer for defense contractors like McDonnell Douglas, Panda Express computerized its operations early on.[9][10] Peggy also brought a systems analysis perspective to the business and worked through the logistics and standardization issues necessary to scale up the concept.[9][10]In 2005, Panda Express began to open units in food courts on college campuses, some of which participate in the residential student meal plans.[18] In 2008, the Cherngs were the recipients of the City of Angels Award, given by the LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce,[19] for their contributions to the greater Los Angeles area.[20]
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.[22]
In 2011, a suit was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Panda Express because it was reportedly treating its Hispanic employees differently than Asian employees.[23] In June 2013, it was announced that the restaurant chain will pay $150,000 to settle another EEOC 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.[24] In addition to the fines, Panda Express revised its policies and was required to provide anti-discrimination and sexual harassment training for employees.
Later that year, Panda Express opened its first location in the western Pacific, opening a location in Guam.[25] The first location in the state of Alaska was later opened in December 2015.[26] As of 2017, the Panda Restaurant Group had annual sales of over $3 billion and close to 39,000 employees.[27] The Cherngs also opened Panda Innovation Kitchen in Pasadena with their daughter, Andrea Cherng, overlooking a majority of the restaurant's business.[28] The idea for Panda Innovation Kitchen is to experiment with new flavours and ingredients to come up with new menu items. In addition, they also opened a tea bar to introduce Taiwanese drinks such as boba milk tea and new drinks like the Fortune Cookie Shake.[28]In December 2017, Panda Express had opened the chain's 2,000th location, which is located in New York City near Columbia University.[29]
In February 2022, Panda Restaurant Group filed a U.S. trademark application for the name PANDAVERSE for "downloadable virtual goods, namely, food items and beverages for use in virtual worlds" and "virtual food and beverage products." The filing marked an intention to expand the Panda Express brand into the Metaverse.[30]
In March 2022, Panda Express committed to transitioning to 100% cage-free eggs, responding to pressure from animal welfare groups.[31]
