Panda Restaurant Group
Encyclopedia
Panda Inn
Panda Inn is a chain of sit-down Chinese restaurants in California owned and operated by the Panda Restaurant Group. Its original founding goal was to bring new varieties of Chinese cuisine, such as Mandarin cuisine and Szechuan cuisine dishes, to Southern California, which had traditionally...
, Panda Express
Panda Express
Panda Express is a fast casual restaurant chain serving American Chinese cuisine. It operates mainly inside the United States, in casinos, shopping malls, supermarkets, airports, train stations, strip plazas, theme parks, stadiums, college campuses and The Pentagon...
& 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
Yangzhou
Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across...
region of China's Jiangsu
Jiangsu
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou. The abbreviation for this province is "苏" , the second character of its name...
province. They started their first Panda Inn restaurant in 1973 in Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The group has its headquarters in Rosemead, California
Rosemead, California
Rosemead is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 53,764. Rosemead is part of a cluster of cities, along with Arcadia, Temple City, Monterey Park, San Marino, and San Gabriel, in the west San Gabriel Valley with a growing Asian...
.
Andrew Cherng '70 and his wife Peggy Tsiang Cherng '68 are alumni of Baker University
Baker University
Baker University is a private, residential university located in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it is the oldest university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools...
in Baldwin City, Kansas
Baldwin City, Kansas
Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States about south of Lawrence and west of Gardner. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,515. It is part of the Lawrence, Kansas Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
Companies
The Panda Restaurant Group includes Panda Express, Panda Inn, and Hibachi-San.Panda Express, being the most popular, has 1,197 locations as of the end of January, 2009, making it the largest Chinese
American Chinese cuisine
American Chinese cuisine refers to the style of food served by many Chinese restaurants in the United States. This type of cooking typically caters to Western tastes, and differs significantly from the original Chinese cuisine.-History:...
fast food
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
chain in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Also, Panda Express has been known to pay significantly higher than federal and state minimum wage.
Panda Inn, a sit-down restaurant chain, has 7 locations, all of which are in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
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.
- Jennings, Lisa, "Having words with Peggy Tsiang Cherng: chief executive and co-chair, Panda Restaurant Group", Nation's Restaurant News, August 1, 2005
- 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.