Pick Up Stix is an American

fast-casual A fast casual restaurant, found primarily in the United States and Canada, does not offer full table service, but advertises higher quality food than fast food restaurants, with fewer frozen or processed ingredients. It is an intermediate concep ...

restaurant chain A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...

based in

Laguna Hills, California Laguna Hills (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a city in south Orange County, California, United States. Its name refers to its proximity to Laguna Canyon and the much older Laguna Beach. Other newer cities nearby— Laguna Niguel and L ...

, that serves fresh

Asian cuisine Asian cuisine includes several major regional cuisines: Central Asian, East Asian, North Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and West Asian. A cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, usually associated with ...

(or Chinese-American cuisine as well) through corporate-owned restaurants and franchises in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...

. The company serves both dine-in and take-out customers, and offers offsite

catering Catering is the business of providing food service at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, hospital, pub, aircraft, cruise ship, park, festival, filming location or film studio. History of catering The earliest account of major servi ...

and some delivery services. It also supplies meals to private schools as part of a school lunch program. It is owned by Lorne Goldberg's Mandarin Holdings, the parent company of

Leeann Chin Leeann Chin is a Bloomington, Minnesota-based Asian quick service restaurant chain, with over 50 locations throughout the Midwest, mostly in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. The chain was founded by its namesake, Leeann Chin, and funded by Ca ...

, who bought the company from Carlson Companies in 2010. All of the company's food is cooked-to-order over high-heat burners using traditional woks. In a readers' poll in the June 2008 issue of ''

San Diego Magazine ''San Diego Magazine'' is a multi-platform media company covering food, arts and culture, travel, health and wellness, social progress, and life in San Diego County. Its flagship monthly magazine has won multiple regional and national awards. The ...

'', Pick Up Stix was named one of the three "Best Takeout" restaurants in San Diego.

History

Pick Up Stix was created by a Chinese immigrant, Charlie Zhang, who moved to the United States in 1982 with only $20 in his pocket. He took traditional Asian food and adapted it to the American palate by reducing the amount of oil and adding wine,

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to eth ...

and

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or '' As ...

. He opened the first restaurant in

Rancho Santa Margarita, California Rancho Santa Margarita is a city in Orange County, California, United States. One of Orange County's youngest cities, Rancho Santa Margarita is a master-planned community. The population was 47,853 at the 2010 census, up from 47,214 at the 2 ...

, in 1989. By 1992, there were two more locations in Orange County, in Irvine and

Laguna Niguel Laguna Niguel () is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The name Laguna Niguel is derived from the words "Laguna" (Spanish for "lagoon") and "Niguili" (the name of a Native American village once located near Aliso Creek). As of ...

. Two years later, the chain expanded into

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

with locations in Del Mar, Carlsbad and San Diego. In July 2001, the company was acquired by Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, a unit of the Carlson Companies. The company is headquartered in

, and owns and operates its own food-processing facility. Zhang remained as president and CEO of the company until his retirement in 2003. In 2010, Carlson Restaurants Worldwide sold the company to Lorne Goldberg's Mandarin Holdings. There are over 70 locations throughout the United States.

Closings

In early 2008, 26 locations were closed in California, Nevada and Arizona in order to "focus on stronger markets". In 2010, all locations in Nevada and Arizona were closed although Pick Up Stix' Facebook page encouraged these states' local customers to continue to enjoy their menu at various California locations. However, in late 2012 the Food Court in the

Excalibur Hotel and Casino Excalibur Hotel and Casino is a casino hotel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, in the United States. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. Excalibur, named for the mythical sword of King Arthur, use ...

in Las Vegas underwent a major renovation. As a result of the renovation

Manchu Wok Manchu Wok Inc. is a Canadian fast food restaurant chain that specializes in Chinese fusion cuisine. The brand operates 57 locations across eight Canadian provinces and 13 in the US. The chain operates in shopping malls, airports and some US mili ...

was removed and a branch of Pick Up Stix was put in its place. In 2022, their Rancho Santa Margarita location was closed.

References

External links

* {{Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food chains of the United States Restaurants in Orange County, California Chinese restaurants Restaurants established in 1989 Companies based in Orange County, California Regional restaurant chains in the United States 1989 establishments in California American companies established in 1989 Laguna Hills, California