Panda Express History: Founders, First Store and Who Owns It
Panda Express was founded by Andrew and Peggy Cherng, who opened the first restaurant in October 1983 at the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California. It grew out of Panda Inn, the Pasadena restaurant Andrew and his father, chef Ming-Tsai Cherng, opened in 1973. Today the chain has about 2,600 locations and is still owned by the Cherng family through the privately held Panda Restaurant Group.
Who founded Panda Express?
Panda Express was founded by the married couple Andrew Cherng and Peggy Cherng. Andrew ran the family’s Pasadena restaurant with his father, chef Ming-Tsai Cherng, and Peggy later built the systems that let one restaurant become thousands. They still lead the company today as co-chairs and co-CEOs of Panda Restaurant Group.
Both founders came to the United States as students. According to Wikipedia, Andrew was born in 1948 in Yangzhou, in China’s Jiangsu province, and studied at Baker University in Kansas and the University of Missouri. Peggy was born in Burma and raised in Hong Kong, and the Carnegie Corporation’s “Great Immigrants” profile notes she earned a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri.
| Founder | Background | Role in the company |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Cherng | Born 1948, Yangzhou, China. Studied at Baker University and the University of Missouri | Co-founder, co-chair and co-CEO |
| Peggy Cherng | Born in Burma, raised in Hong Kong. PhD in electrical engineering, University of Missouri | Co-founder, co-chair and co-CEO |
| Ming-Tsai Cherng | Master chef, Andrew’s father | Co-founded Panda Inn in 1973, the restaurant Panda Express grew from |
Peggy’s engineering background shaped the business early on. According to Wikipedia, she brought in a point-of-sale system in 1983, the same year the first Panda Express opened, so ordering could run the same way at every new store.
When and where did the first Panda Express open?
The first Panda Express opened in October 1983 in the food court of the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California. According to Wikipedia, the mall’s developer had eaten at Panda Inn and invited Andrew Cherng to open a quick-service version there, with a short menu of wok dishes that could be cooked fast.
The idea was simple: take the flavors from the family’s sit-down restaurant and cut them down to a handful of dishes a shopper could order in a minute. That counter format, a side plus one or more entrées served in a line, is still how Panda Express works today.
- Date: October 1983
- Place: Glendale Galleria food court, Glendale, California
- Format: quick-service counter, limited menu, dishes cooked in woks in small batches
- Age in 2026: 43 years
What is Panda Inn, and is it still open?
Panda Inn is the sit-down Chinese restaurant the Cherng family opened in Pasadena in 1973, ten years before Panda Express. It is still open. The original Panda Inn at 3488 Foothill Boulevard reopened on November 15, 2024 after a renovation, its first in almost two decades, according to NBC Los Angeles.
Panda Inn serves a fuller menu than Panda Express, with table service and dishes ordered family style. The 2024 renovation added a sushi bar, garden patio seating and private dining rooms, as reported by FSR Magazine.
| Detail | Panda Inn | Panda Express |
|---|---|---|
| Opened | 1973, Pasadena | 1983, Glendale |
| Style | Sit-down, table service | Quick-service counter |
| Menu | Full Chinese menu, family style | Short menu of wok entrées and sides |
How did Panda Express grow from one store to 2,600?
Panda Express grew slowly at first, reaching its 100th store in 1993, then sped up. Its own company timeline lists the 2,000th store in New York in 2017, the year yearly sales passed $3 billion. By 2026 the chain had about 2,600 locations in the United States and abroad.
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1973 | Andrew and Ming-Tsai Cherng open Panda Inn in Pasadena |
| 1983 | First Panda Express opens at the Glendale Galleria |
| 1987 | Chef Andy Kao creates Orange Chicken in Hawaii |
| 1993 | 100th Panda Express opens on the UCLA campus |
| 1997 | First stand-alone store with a drive-thru opens in Hesperia, California |
| 1999 | Panda Cares, the company’s charity arm, starts |
| 2011 | First store outside the U.S. opens in Mexico City |
| 2013 to 2014 | Innovation Kitchen test restaurant opens in Pasadena |
| 2014 | First store in South Korea opens in Seoul |
| 2017 | 2,000th Panda Express opens in New York; sales pass $3 billion |
| 2019 | First store in the Philippines opens in Manila |
| 2023 | 40th anniversary; Apple Pie Roll becomes the chain’s first dessert |
| 2024 | Original Panda Inn reopens after renovation |
| 2026 | Named Nation’s Restaurant News Brand Icon of the Year; about 2,600 locations |
Real-world case 1 · Growth rate
How fast did Panda Express add stores?
From the 100th store in 1993 to the 2,000th in 2017, Panda Express added 1,900 restaurants in 24 years, about 79 a year. From 2017 to 2026 it went from 2,000 to about 2,600: roughly 600 more in 9 years, or about 67 a year.
Result: the chain has kept opening more than one new Panda Express a week, on average, for over 30 years.
Who invented Panda Express Orange Chicken?
Orange Chicken was created in 1987 by Chef Andy Kao, who had gone to Hawaii to help open the state’s first Panda Express. Andrew Cherng has said the dish grew from a popular bone-in chicken that guests wanted without the bones, with flavors inspired by China’s Hunan province.
It became the chain’s signature. According to figures Panda shared with QSR Magazine, Orange Chicken makes up about one-third of all entrées sold, and the chain served 148 million pounds of it in 2025, up from 137 million pounds in 2024. Calories, price and the spicy versions are on our Orange Chicken nutrition and price page.
Real-world case 2 · Orange Chicken by the numbers
How much Orange Chicken does Panda serve in a day?
148 million pounds in 2025 divided by 365 days is about 405,000 pounds of Orange Chicken a day. That was 11 million pounds more than in 2024, a rise of about 8% in one year.
Result: almost 40 years after Andy Kao created it, the dish is still growing.
Who owns Panda Express today?
Panda Express is owned by Panda Restaurant Group, a private company controlled by the Cherng family. Andrew and Peggy Cherng are its co-chairs and co-CEOs, and the company is based in Rosemead, California. It has never been sold to an outside owner or listed on a stock exchange.
Panda Restaurant Group runs three restaurant brands:
- Panda Express: the quick-service chain, about 2,600 locations
- Panda Inn: the family’s original sit-down restaurant brand
- Hibachi-San: a Japanese grill concept
The founders’ daughter, Andrea Cherng, works in senior leadership and helped open the Innovation Kitchen in Pasadena, according to Wikipedia.
Is Panda Express a franchise?
No. Panda Express does not sell franchises for regular restaurants. The company owns and runs its own stores. The only exceptions are licensed locations in places like airports, universities, military bases and theme parks, where an approved operator runs the store under Panda’s rules.
Because there is no franchise program, there is no public franchise fee, startup cost or franchise disclosure document to look up. Websites that list a “Panda Express franchise cost” are estimating, and their numbers do not agree with each other.
| Location type | Who runs it | Can you apply? |
|---|---|---|
| Street, strip-mall and mall stores | Panda Restaurant Group | No, not offered |
| Airports, campuses, bases, theme parks | Approved licensed operators | Only as an established venue or concessions company |
Can you buy Panda Express stock?
No. Panda Express has no stock to buy. Its parent, Panda Restaurant Group, is privately held by the Cherng family, so it has no ticker symbol and files no public reports. Any site claiming a “Panda Express stock price” is wrong or describing a different company.
Because the company is private, its numbers come from estimates. Wikipedia lists yearly revenue of about $5.9 billion for 2024.
Is Panda Express real Chinese food?
Panda Express serves American Chinese food: dishes rooted in Chinese cooking but adapted to American tastes. Its founders were born in China and Burma, and its best-known dish, Orange Chicken, was created in Hawaii in 1987. It is also a quick-service (fast food) chain, with counter ordering, drive-thrus and mall food courts.
Chinese regional cooking shows up in the flavors. Kung Pao Chicken comes from Sichuan cooking, and Orange Chicken drew on Hunan flavors, but the sweeter sauces, crispy battered chicken and combo plates are American Chinese style. Panda describes itself as the largest Asian dining concept in the United States.
Where is Panda Express outside the United States?
Panda Express opened its first store outside the U.S. in Mexico City in September 2011. Seoul followed in 2014 and Manila in 2019. By 2024 the chain was in 11 countries, according to ABC7 Los Angeles, with the large majority of its roughly 2,600 stores still in the United States.
| Country | First opening | City |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico | September 2011 | Mexico City |
| South Korea | September 2014 | Seoul |
| Philippines | 2019 | Manila |
Other markets include Canada, Guatemala, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
What is Panda Cares?
Panda Cares is the charity arm of Panda Restaurant Group, started in 1999. It supports youth health and education programs in the communities where Panda Express operates, with money raised from guests and employees. Since 1999 it has raised more than $455 million, according to Panda Cares.
Employees have also given more than 361,000 volunteer hours, the company said in August 2026. Panda Cares runs a yearly giving month in August, and the 2026 Pei Pei blind box collectibles sent 100% of net proceeds to the charity.
