Panda Inn
 | |
| Genre | sit-down Chinese restaurants |
|---|---|
| Founded | Pasadena, California (June 8, 1973) |
| Founder |
|
| Headquarters | Rosemead, California |
Number of locations | 5 |
Area served | Southern California |
Key people |
|
| Owner | Panda Restaurant Group |
| Website |
www |
Panda Inn is a chain of sit-down Chinese restaurants in California owned and operated by the Panda Restaurant Group.[1][2][3]
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 favored Chinese Cantonese cuisine.[4]
History
The first Panda Inn was founded by Andrew and Peggy Cherng and Andrew's father, Master Chef Ming-Tsai Cherng,[5] all of whom used to live in the Yangzhou region of China's Jiangsu province. Their first location was opened on June 8, 1973 in Pasadena, California.[6] A short time after Ming-Tsai died, a second location was opened in 1982 in nearby Glendale.[6]
A few months after the opening of the Glendale location of the Panda Inn, the Cherngs was invited by the developer of the Glendale Galleria to open a quick serve version of the Panda Inn inside the mall. This new concept was called the Panda Express and it opened inside the Galleria in October 1983.[6]
The first Panda Inn in San Diego opened at Horton Plaza in 1985[3] while the first Panda Inn in Orange County opened in La Palma in 1993.
Andrew Cherng and his wife Peggy Tsiang Cherng are alumni of Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas.[7]
References
- ↑ "What's black and white and ready to get fancy? Panda Group facing off with P.F. Chang.(RESTAURANT)(P.F. Chang's China Bistro Inc.)(Panda Restaurant Group Inc.)". Los Angeles Business Journal. August 13, 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
- ↑ Booe, Martin (July 12, 2001). "A Two-Strike Start, but Panda Inn's a Hit; It's not dim sum, it's a buffet, and it's a chain, but this skeptic finds good food and value for the money in La Palma". Los Angeles Times. p. F.44. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- 1 2 Nelson, David (December 12, 1985). "Horton Plaza's Panda Inn: Plum Tree Beef Arrives in San Diego, At Last". Los Angeles Times. p. 6. Retrieved 2009-02-01.
- ↑ "About Panda Inn". Panda Inn.
- ↑ "About Panda Express (Inn)". Archived from the original on 2003-02-04.
- 1 2 3 Eng, Dinah (5 February 2013). "How Panda Express brings Chinese food to the mall". Fortune. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
- ↑ "Cherngs honored for contributions in L.A. area" (PDF). Baker Pride alumni magazine. Kansas: Baker University. Spring 2008.
Further reading
- Jennings, Lisa (August 1, 2005). "Having words with Peggy Tsiang Cherng: chief executive and co-chair, Panda Restaurant Group". Nation's Restaurant News – via HighBeam Research. (subscription required (help)).