Panda Restaurant Group, Inc. is the parent company of Panda Inn,

Panda Express Panda Express is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in American Chinese cuisine. With over 2,400 locations, it is the largest Asian-segment restaurant chain in the United States, and is mainly located in North America and Asi ...

and Hibachi-San. It was founded by Andrew and Peggy Tsiang Cherng Jennings, Lisa
"Having words with Peggy Tsiang Cherng: chief executive and co-chair, Panda Restaurant Group"
''Nation's Restaurant News'', August 1, 2005 and Andrew's father, Master Chef Ming-Tsai Cherng; the family originated from the

Yangzhou Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou, Jiangsu, ...

region of China's

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

province. They started their first Panda Inn restaurant in 1973 in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

. Ten years later a developer of the new

Glendale Galleria The Glendale Galleria is a large three-story regional shopping center and office complex located in downtown Glendale, California, United States. Opened in 1976 with of retail space, it is the third-largest mall in Los Angeles County after Lak ...

mall, a frequent patron of Panda Inn, asked Andrew to start a fast-service version of his restaurant in the new mall. In 1985 the store went from five locations to nine in just one year. The group's headquarters is located in

Rosemead, California Rosemead is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The 2020 United States census reported a population of 51,185. Rosemead is part of a cluster of cities, along with Alhambra, Arcadia, Temple City, Monterey Park, San Marino, ...

. Panda Express is the largest Asian-American restaurant chain in the United States, with 2,200 branches. In 2019 Panda Express opened its first branch in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Philippines, as a joint venture between the Panda Restaurant Group and Jollibee Foods Corp., JBPX Foods. Andrew Cherng and his wife Peggy Tsiang Cherng met at

Baker University Baker University is a private university in Baldwin City, Kansas, United States. Founded in 1858, it was the first four-year university in Kansas and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Baker University is made up of four schools. Th ...

Baldwin City, Kansas Baldwin City is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States, about south of Lawrence. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,826. The city is home to Baker University, the state's oldest four-year university. Histor ...

. Peggy Cherng went on to receive her B.S. degree in Mathematics from

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

in 1971 and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

. The company debuted on Forbes' 2016 edition of America's Largest Private Companies The Cherngs invest their personal wealth out of their family office, the Cherng Family Trust.

Companies

The Panda Restaurant Group includes Panda Express, Panda Inn, Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers (AK/HI only) and Hibachi-San. Panda Express, the most popular, has over 2,000 locations as of 2018, making it the largest Chinese

fast food Fast food is a type of Mass production, mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. ''Fast food'' is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheat ...

chain in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Panda Inn, a sit-down restaurant chain, has 6 locations, all of which are in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, plus Wasabi, a Japanese concept. Panda Group has been aggressively supporting popular Asian chains by introducing them in the American market. Uncle Tetsu, Yakiya,

Pieology Pieology Pizzeria is a Tustin, California-based pizza chain within the fast-casual dining restaurants category. Founded in 2011 by Carl Chang, the brother of former tennis player Michael Chang, Pieology's mission is to "turn one of America's fa ...

and

Ippudo Ippudo, also known as in Japan, is a Japanese fancy-ramen restaurant chain with locations worldwide. Ippudo is well known for its tonkotsu ramen, and has been described as "the most famous tonkotsu ramen shop in the country". History Ippudo w ...

are all concepts supported by Panda Group. In 2018 it was ranked 143 on the Forbes list of America's Largest Private Companies.

Philanthropy

The majority of the Cherngs donations are done through Panda Cares, the giving arm of the Panda Group, and the Panda Charitable Foundation, to education, youth leadership development and health. Since 1999 Panda Cares has raised over $107 million. In July 2017, the company pledged $10 million to the

Children's Hospital Los Angeles Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care Pediatrics, children's hospital in the East Hollywood, Los Angeles, East Hollywood district of Los Angeles, on Sunset Boulevard at the corner of Vermont Avenue ...

, where the sixth floor will be renamed the Panda Express Floor. In May 2022, The Huntington Hospital in Pasadena, California announced a $25 million gift from the Panda Charitable Family Foundation in support of enhancements to the hospital’s surgical care program. The Huntington Hospital announced they will be displaying the family's name on campus as a thank you to their commitment and continuous support of the hospital.

References

External links

Official websitePanda Cares Hoover's Financial Data on the Panda Restaurant Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Panda Restaurant Group Restaurant chains in the United States Companies based in Los Angeles County, California Restaurants established in 1973 1973 establishments in California Rosemead, California Privately held companies based in California

Companies

Philanthropy

References

Further reading

External links