From the founders' meet cute to innovations at their live test kitchen, here are some surprising Panda Express facts
13 Panda Express Facts You Probably Didn’t Know
It has a sit-down predecessor
Before launching Panda Express, co-owner Andrew Cherng opened the sit-down Chinese restaurant Panda Inn with his dad, Master Chef Ming-Tsai Cherng. Started in Pasadena, California, in 1973, Panda Inn still has four locations throughout Southern California: Pasadena, Glendale, La Palma and Ontario.
Sticking to its California roots, Panda Express got its start in 1983 at the Glendale Galleria. It was born from the simple idea of serving quality, wok-cooked Chinese food in a fast-paced environment. Why the Galleria? Well, Andrew Cherng had become acquainted with legendary UCLA Bruins football coach Terry Donahue, whose family was building a mall in Glendale. Impressed by the food at Panda Inn, he suggested the Cherngs open a restaurant in his new shopping center.
“They had a great restaurant,” Donahue told Forbes. “We didn’t know they also had a world-class model for the McDonald’s of Chinese food.”
The owners were college sweethearts
Andrew Cherng met his future wife, Peggy, at Baker University in Kansas, where they were both international students. Both got postgraduate degrees at the University of Missouri—he studied mathematics, she got degrees in computer science and engineering—and the college sweethearts were married in 1975.
They started a family, with Peggy working during the week and pitching in at Andrew’s Panda Inn restaurants on the weekends. She and Andrew joined forces in 1982, and launched Panda Express the next year. Peggy put her engineering background to good use, helping to streamline operations and scale Panda Express into a nationwide sensation.
Fifty years later, they’re still together!
The Cherngs revolutionized Chinese American cuisine
The Chinese food at Panda Express might be Americanized—no chopsticks required—but it has authentic roots.
“In the late ’80s, Chinese food meant mom-and-pop restaurants. There were no chains,” Peggy recalled to Fortune. “Before 1973, Chinese restaurants offered chop suey. As more Chinese immigrants came, they brought their cooking skills and cuisines.”
That truism definitely applied to the Cherngs. Andrew was born in Yangzhou, China, and lived in Taiwan and Japan as a child; Peggy was born in Burma (now Myanmar) and grew up in Hong Kong. When the couple launched Panda Express, they drew upon their Chinese roots and offered what Peggy called “more sophisticated, authentic food.”
Orange Chicken was a game-changer
Who doesn’t love Orange Chicken? Chef Andy Kao is credited with inventing Panda Express’s signature dish in 1987, four years after the restaurant opened.
“He was travelling in Hawaii with Andrew Cherng, who asked Kao to create a Chinese dish that locals would enjoy,” Monte Baier, a senior vice president at the Panda Restaurant Group told the Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI). “Kao looked to the sweet and tart flavor profile of Cherng’s hometown in China, and added local citrus oil to balance the dish.”
The dish was tailor-made for American palates. It quickly became Panda Express’s most popular item, and a defining feature of the brand. “It’s taking everything that we love—crispy fried chicken, tossed with savory sweet and sour sauce that really hits all the senses and taste buds in your mouth,” chef Jimmy Wang told NPR on the 30th anniversary of the sensation’s launch.
Panda Express sells more than 285,000 orders of Orange Chicken a day!
That’s about 90 million pounds of their famous chicken—enough for every person in America to eat four pieces. And here’s a Panda Express fact that vegetarians will love: In 2021, Panda Express partnered with Beyond Meat to co-develop a non-meat version of this signature dish. It was officially called Beyond the Original Orange Chicken—and people loved it.
The meatless version of their most popular dish was meant to be a regional and temporary offering, and when it fell off the menu people took notice. A petition started on Change.org gathered thousands of signatures, and in 2024 it was brought back for a limited time.
It has a menu for health-conscious diners
If the sweet fried deliciousness of Orange Chicken doesn’t comport with your diet, Panda Express’s Wok Smart menu offers tons of healthy options like grilled teriyaki chicken, mixed vegetables and other light and nutritious ways to enjoy fast-casual Chinese food. Some of these dishes have less than 300 calories and at least 8 grams of protein!
Panda Express lets you get creative
While there’s no official “secret menu” at Panda Express, Chef Wang says he’s seen customers get creative with their meals. Try mixing hot sauce in Orange Chicken for an extra kick, or pour chow mein in hot and sour soup for a DIY noodle bowl. With a little know-how, you can make the menu work to suit your taste buds and dietary needs.
It has an innovation kitchen to test out new dishes
You won’t stay in business long if you don’t innovate, so Panda Express experiments with new technology, uniforms, music, beverages—and of course, food—at their Innovation Kitchen in Pasadena. Dishes go through a lengthy development process at the kitchen, and then it’s on to market testing. According to Baeir, many of Panda Express’s seasonal offerings, like Chinese-inspired Brussels sprouts, cauliflower and grilled steak—started this way, and we can’t thank him enough!
The company doesn’t just do Chinese food
Not into Chinese food? In 1992, Panda Restaurant Group launched Hibachi San, an authentic Japanese teppanyaki grill experience and sushi restaurant. Now serving 10 locations in 6 states, diners can get fast-casual Japanese cuisine instead of traditional Panda Express fare.
The charity bell really means something
The Cherngs are known for their philanthropic efforts as well as tasty Chinese American cuisine. That’s why Panda Express runs a charitable organization called Panda Cares, which you might already know if you’ve donated at the cash register or heard a bell ringing when you’re inside one of their restaurants.
The charity benefits children’s hospitals, schools and disaster relief, and the crisp ding! doesn’t just announce your good deed. It’s a symbolic reminder of the bell that young patients at Children’s Miracle Network hospitals get to ring when they get to go home.
It has more than 2,500 locations … and it’s growing
From its humble beginnings at a single California mall food court, Panda Express has become a global sensation. As of 2025, it operates more than 2,500 locations around the world. Yes, most of those are in the U.S., but you can find Panda Express in Canada, Mexico, South Korea, Dubai, the Philippines and more.
And it shows no signs of slowing down: Panda Express says it will open 130 new locations in 2025. You don’t have to go to the mall to get your favorites, either. Keeping changing consumer trends and tastes in mind, the company says they are focusing on drive-thru only locations and nontraditional spots like universities and airports.
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Sources
- Panda Cares: “Our Mission”
- Panda Restaurant Group: “Leadership”
- Forbes: “How Panda Express CEO Peggy Cherng Used Her Ph.D. To Get Rich In Fast Food”
- Fast Company: “Panda Express is bringing back its beloved Beyond orange chicken—for a limited time”
- Oregon State University: “How Peggy Cherng used her analytical know-how to help build a restaurant empire”
- NBC News: “Panda Express’ orange chicken changed the game for American Chinese food 35 years ago”
- FCSI: “Operator profile: Panda Express”
- Fortune: “How Panda Express brings Chinese food to the mall”
- NPR: “Orange Chicken, Panda Express’ Gift To American Chinese Food, Turns 30”
