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A stand-alone Panda Express restaurant in Oakland, California with drive-through window

A mall food court Panda Express at Ala Moana Center

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. It is the largest chain of Chinese fast food restaurants in the United States.

In 2004, the company began opening stand-alone restaurants with drive-through windows.^[2]

Panda Express has 1,321 restaurants covering 38 states and Puerto Rico.^[3] There used to be Panda Express locations in Japan.^[4]

The chain offers a variety of food such as Orange Chicken, Beijing Beef, Mandarin 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.^[5]

Panda Express has its headquarters in Rosemead, California.^[6] It is a faster, casual representation of the more upscale Panda Inn, from which the chain concept was derived.

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.^[7] 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.^[8] 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.^[9]

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,^[10] for their contributions to the greater Los Angeles area.^[11]

Andrew Cherng '70 and his wife Peggy Tsiang Cherng '68 are alumni of Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas.^[12] 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.^[13] Andrew Cherng also received his M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Missouri.^[14]

On November 23, 2009, it was announced that Panda Express had selected Trusonic to provide Asian themed background music to its store locations.^[15]

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 various life-changing motivational programs, especially emphasizing Landmark Education.^[16]

With approximately 1,372^[17] 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.^[18]

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.^[19]

1.                              ^ "Panda Express Restaurant Locations". http://www.pandaexpress.com/locations/locator.aspx. Retrieved 2011-08-13.

2.                              ^ Bruce Haring, "Panda gains higher visibility for chain amid shift from malls, food courts," Nation's Restaurant News, 9 August 2004, 6.

3.                              ^ Panda Express Location Finder. "Panda Restaurant Group has 1333 restaurants covering 38 states and Puerto Rico. (1279 Panda Express, 28 Hibachi-San, 7 Panda Inn)"

4.                              ^ "Building Panda". Archived in 2000.

5.                              ^ Panda Express FAQ - "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."

6.                              ^ "Contact Us." Panda Express. Retrieved on February 26, 2010.

7.                              ^ Panda Restaurant Group History

8.                              ^ James Flanigan, "Cooking Up a Powerhouse of Chinese Fast Food," Los Angeles Times, 8 October 2001, C1.

9.                              ^ Panda Restaurant Group information page

10.                          ^ LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce website

11.                          ^ "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.

12.                          ^ "Cherngs honored for contributions in L.A. area", Baker Pride alumni magazine, Baker University, Baldwin City, Kansas, Spring 2008 issue.

13.                          ^ "OSU ALUMNI FELLOWS 2000: OSU honors veterinarian, animal nutrition researcher and president of Panda Management, Oregon Stater Association News, Oregon State University, 2000

14.                          ^ "Profile: Andrew Cherng", Fremont College, Board of Advisors.

15.                          ^ "Panda Express Selects Trusonic(R) to Provide In-Store Background Music", PR Newswire Association, November 23, 2009

16.                          ^ 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

17.                          ^ Bartiromo, Maria (November 2007). "Positive Thinkers". http://www.rd.com/content/the-success-story-of-panda-express/.

18.                          ^ Krantz, Matt (2006-09-13). "Panda Express spreads Chinese food across USA". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2006-09-10-entrepreneur-panda-express_x.htm. Retrieved 2010-11-10.

19.                          ^ Shimabukuro, Betty (2007-01-17). "Orange Chicken on the house". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. http://starbulletin.com/2007/01/17/features/story01.html. Retrieved 2007-01-17.

·                    Flanigan, James, "Fast Food Powerhouse", Asian Week, Nov. 30 - Dec. 6, 2001 issue. Associated Press story.

·                    Foodservice Equipment & Supplies (FE&S) magazine, Panda Express Profile

·                    Andrew Cherng Profile - Asia Society, Southern California.

·                    Andrew Cherng interview, The Tavis Smiley Show, original airdate November 14, 2006.

·                    Jennings, Lisa, "Having words with Peggy Tsiang Cherng: chief executive and co-chair, Panda Restaurant Group", Nation's Restaurant News, August 1, 2005.

·                    "Panda Express is Alumni Brainchild", @Mizzou, University of Missouri, Alumni Association magazine, January 2004.

·                    Panda Restaurant Group Corporate Data - from Panda Restaurant Group website

·                    Hirsch, Jerry, "Chinese fast-food chain Panda Express thrives on a diet of orange chicken Now celebrating its 25th year", Los Angeles Times, August 13, 2008

·                    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.

·                    Krantz, Matt, "Panda Express Spreads Chinese Food Across USA", USA Today, September 11, 2006

·                    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.

·                    "Panda Restaurant Group Founders Pledge $2.5 Million to Collins College", Polycentric, Cal Poly Pomona, February 28, 2011

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panda_Express