Panda Express

[GeneChing]

First KFC is a Valentine's dinner location (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?22096-the-Kentucky-Fried-Thread&p=1290727#post1290727) and now this?


The Chinese-food chain that is routinely mocked is building an empire to compete with Chipotle (http://www.businessinsider.com/panda-express-takes-stake-in-fast-casual-2016-2)
Ashley Lutz
Feb. 11, 2016, 12:02 PM

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Reuters
Panda Express is trying to cultivate a healthier image.

Panda Express trying to leave its mall-food-court image behind.

The Chinese-food chain has recently taken stakes in trendy fast-casual restaurants like Just Salad and Pieology Pizza, which have a combined 111 restaurants right now, reports Leslie Patton at Bloomberg News.

The brand, which has more than 1,700 locations, is also aggressively looking to invest in other hot restaurant concepts.

Panda Express hopes the investments will help it take steps to elevate its reputation and compete with Chipotle and Panera Bread.

The brand's current reputation is infamous in the Chinese-food world, the New York Times wrote last year.

The "less exalted view of the company is "by people like the Korean-American chef David Chang, who estimates that he has succumbed to Panda Express a half-dozen times in the last two years. This usually happens, he said, when he’s waiting at an airport and 'it’s like I’m stuck on a desert island.'"

Buzzfeed also made a video showing Chinese people trying Panda Express for the first time.

The brand is using the new investments to become appealing to urban millennial consumers.

For instance, it plans to adopt Just Salad's system for quick delivery, according to Bloomberg.

Just Salad is a concept that makes custom salads using premium ingredients like grass-fed steak, local produce, and fresh pita chips.

Pieology, which Technomic named the fastest-growing restaurant chain in America, lets customers build their own pizzas with options ranging from wheat crust to gluten-free crust to vegetarian pizzas to dairy-free cheese. There are 40 toppings, and a custom pizza is $8 or less.

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Pieology
Pieology lets customers build their own pizzas using premium ingredients.

Panda Express' motive for investing in these properties is clear.

The American-style Chinese restaurant's reputation is struggling, founder Peggy Cherng told The New York Times last fall.

Panda Express' food is generally seen as more of a guilty pleasure than a popular trend like going to Chipotle.

Panda Express is notorious for selling items like orange chicken, which is deep-fried and covered in sugary sauces. The brand has responded with a new Wok Smart menu that offers entrees for 300 calories or less.

The brand is also plagued by the idea that it uses additives in its food at a time when consumers are demanding fare that is fresh and natural.

"We need to focus on basic execution," Cherng told The Times. "No matter what, the food speaks for itself."

Marina Nazario contributed to this story.

[GeneChing]

How Two Chinese Immigrants Built A Billion-Dollar Fast-Food Empire More Successful Than In-N-Out (http://www.foodbeast.com/news/panda-ns/)
FOOD NEWS 2 DAYS AGO
NEXTSHARK

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Panda Express, the beloved fast-casual dining restaurant, was founded by Chinese immigrants who believe treating their employees right is the key to building their now billion dollar empire.

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The Chinese-American fast food chain made $2 billion in sales in 2015 — three times that of fast-food burger joint In-N-Out. According to Business Insider, Panda Express has no franchises and operates with 1,800 outlets in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

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Panda Express, which is headquartered in Rosemead, California, is solely owned by the same family that founded it back in the 1970’s. That couple, Andrew and Peggy Cherng, who are both 67, have an estimated net worth of $3 billion today.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Andrew’s father, Ming-Tsai, worked at a restaurant in Taiwan after leaving Yangzhou, China in 1947. The family eventually relocated to Yokohama, Japan where his father found work as a chef. Andrew received a scholarship and moved to Kansas where he met his future wife and co-CEO Peggy at Baker University.

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Peggy, also a Chinese immigrant, was raised off the mainland in Burma. After Kansas, she transferred to the University of Missouri where she studied computer science and eventually earned her PhD. Andrew moved to Missouri to be reunited with Peggy and earned his master’s in applied mathematics.

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GROWING AN EMPIRE

The couple wed after moving to Los Angeles and Andrew later convinced his parents to help him open Panda Inn on Foothill Boulevard in Pasadena in 1973. It was very much a family owned restaurant and business where his mother cooked the rice and Andrew focused on hospitality.

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Panda Inn was slow getting off the ground at first and the business struggled initially. The future Panda Express billionaire once had to try to lure people into his restaurant by offering deals such as three entrees for the price of two.

THE FIRST PANDA EXPRESS

In 1983, Andrew opened the first Panda Express in the new food court of Glendale Galleria. Peggy, a computer programmer at McDonnell Douglas at the time, decided to help her husband with the accounting and payroll for his business.

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Her technical knowledge allowed her to spearhead Panda Express’s growth by tracking purchasing history and shifts in customer behavior using pattern-recognition software. She said:

“The kitchen area is low tech, but the management system can be high tech-how to catch the data, how to analyze data to see what’s most salable, what’s not selling, and to determine what to offer and what not to offer.

“Andrew’s vision is that he doesn’t see anything that’s not possible. But visionaries need a system and structure to provide the growth.”

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A BUSINESS POWER COUPLE

Andrew takes the role of the charismatic leader and motivational CEO while Peggy is the chief technician in charge of operations, the financial tracking system and supply-chain management system. Though they may have differing roles, the couple agree that business is about the people. Peggy said:

“The restaurant business is the people business, and people are our investment. If we want to be loved by guests, we have to focus on food with passion and service with heart, ambience and pride. If that value equation is really good, then guests will come.”

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Panda Expresses invests in their employees and the results show. Andrew said:

“Our job is to develop people. When you have a good set of people and they’re in a good place inside and out-in their livelihood and in who they are — then chances are they will take care of the customer better.”

continued next post

[GeneChing]

Lisa Jennings (https://twitter.com/livetodineout/status/763483460258246656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
‏@livetodineout
And BREAKING: @PandaExpress is considering a move toward the “chork,” or the chopsticks/fork

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RETWEETS 132
LIKES 110
2:13 PM - 10 Aug 2016

chorks. :rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL5vvRrRpec

[-N-]

That's hilarious!

Her mom taught her how to burn noodles and later says, "You made your chow mein!"

So the subliminal message is that Panda Express is Chinese for white people?

:rolleyes:

[GeneChing]

Panda Express Will Give Away Red Envelopes for Chinese New Year (https://www.foodandwine.com/news/panda-express-chinese-new-year-red-envelope)

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Rachel Murray/Getty Images
Plus, the chain has opened a Lunar New Year-themed installation at L.A.’s Westfield Century City mall.

ANDY WANG February 01, 2019

On Thursday night, Panda Express started its Chinese New Year celebrations with a party for its "House of Good Fortune" installation at L.A.’s Westfield Century City mall. Andrea Cherng, Panda’s chief marketing officer, talked about how her family opened Pasadena’s Panda Inn more than 45 years ago and ended up creating a Chinese-American fast-casual chain that now has more than 2,000 locations. Then a panel, including actor Harry Shum Jr. of Crazy Rich Asians and Glee, discussed Chinese New Year, family, identity, and food.

Following the panel, Cherng opened an installation that aims to put a different spin on Chinese New Year traditions. The interactive experience is pure Instagram bait, but it doesn’t focus on rainbows and glitter like the scourge of new food “museums” opening around the country.

Reservations for the free "House of Good Fortune" installation, which runs from noon to 8 p.m. through February 5, are fully booked, but you can still try to walk in to catch a red envelope, pull “noodles” in the “room of longevity,” be the star of a lion dance, throw around giant mandarin-orange balls, and put a wish inside a lantern. That last part involves a lantern-festival room that might remind you of being inside a Yayoi Kusama exhibit.

“It’s a beautiful way of almost creating a new Lunar New Year experience for the public,” Cherng says. “We talked about the sights and the sounds of a Lunar New Year parade. What is the modern equivalent? You get to be a part of it. Instead of watching a lion dance, you get to actually be in the lion head.”

Even if you don’t manage to make your way inside the House of Good Fortune, you can still celebrate the Year of the Pig with Panda Express. On February 5, customers will be given red envelopes to celebrate the official start of Chinese New Year. There won’t be any cash inside the envelope, unfortunately, but there will be coupons for a free chicken egg roll and a free Dr. Pepper. There will also be a fortune-teller game to answer questions about what the Year of the Pig might have in store for you.

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Andy Wang

We also learned that the pleasantly mouth-numbing Sichuan hot chicken that Panda Express recently tested will return in a big way. The goal is to roll it out nationwide, says Cherng.

“We will introduce new dishes all the time,” Cherng says. “We want to introduce a new shrimp dish soon. A lot of is because we want to help people experience different culinary flavors from different parts of China.”

Every year, Panda Express chefs visit provinces in China. They recently returned and are now spending a month dedicated to working on new dishes.

THREADS:
Year of the Pig 2019 (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?71112-Year-of-the-Pig-2019)
Panda Express (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?69669-Panda-Express)
Crazy Rich Asians (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70914-Crazy-Rich-Asians)

[GeneChing]

I've never worked anywhere where we had team building exercises, especially not like this.


Lawsuit: Panda Express Workers Forced to Strip ‘Almost Naked’ at Self-Help Seminar (https://www.qsrmagazine.com/legal/lawsuit-panda-express-workers-forced-strip-almost-naked-self-help-seminar)
Restaurant said the allegations are under investigation.

LEGAL | MARCH 10, 2021 | BEN COLEY
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MIOSOTIS JADE/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Panda Express said that while it encourages personal growth and development, the restaurant does not mandate participating in the seminars nor is it a requirement to earn promotions.
A former Panda Express employee is suing the chain for sexual harassment and emotional distress after attending a self-improvement seminar that engaged in “cult-like rituals,” like forcing participants to strip naked.

The 23-year-old woman attended the Alive Seminars and Coaching Academy in July 2019, after being told by her superior that she needed to do so to receive a promotion, the lawsuit says. The court documents describe the Alive seminar as “bizarre” and say the event “quickly devolved into psychological abuse.”

Attendees were allegedly prohibited from using their cell phones, and placed in a room where the doors and windows were covered with black cloth. The lawsuit describes the atmosphere as an “off-the-books interrogation of terrorist suspects.”

After an hour of waiting in silence, the seminar allegedly began with a man storming in yelling in Spanish and berating participants. The employee told attendees that they were “nothing” and “don’t matter,” the lawsuit says.

During an exercise labeled as trust-building, the woman was forced to strip down to her underwear in front of other participants, the lawsuit says. The demonstration ended with attendees yelling about their inner struggles until everyone believed them. Documents say one man broke down in tears after not being able to convince others. The woman was later told to “hug it out” with the male participant, wearing nothing but underwear.

In another instance, attendees allegedly completed an exercise in which they had to pretend to be on a sinking ship and inform others of whether they got to live or die. Amid this exercise, staff screamed abusive language, such as “nobody will care if Plaintiff, or the other participants, live or die because they do not stand out sufficiently.”

The lawsuit says that as the seminar continued, it began to resemble a “cult initiation ritual.” During one session, Alive seminar staff allegedly dimmed the lights and participants were told to stand up, close their eyes, and pretend a light was coming down to suck out all the negative energy and that a hole in the ground swallowed the negative energy.

The complaint claims Panda Express “adopted, ratified, and endorsed the offending conduct and authorized it as if it had been its own policy.”

The restaurant said in a statement that it takes the woman’s accusations seriously and that it will investigate the matter. Panda Express also said that Alive Seminars is a third-party organization and that the brand has no ownership interest and exercises no control.

“We do not condone the kind of behavior described in the lawsuit, and it is deeply concerning to us,” the company said in a statement to QSR. “We are committed to providing a safe environment for all associates and stand behind our core values to treat each person with respect.

“We are continuing to look deeper into what did occur, and we are committed to doing what is right,” the statement continued. “As an active legal matter, we are unable to comment further.”

Panda Express said that while it encourages personal growth and development, the restaurant does not mandate participating in the seminars nor is it a requirement to earn promotions. However, the lawsuit claims the restaurant paid some employees to attend and that participants were required to provide employee ID numbers so the seminar fee could be directly debited from their employee accounts. Additionally, the lawsuit says all employees received seminar materials featuring the Panda Express Logo.

“Alive Seminars served—in essence—as an extension of Panda Express’ own Human Resources department,” the lawsuit says.

The complaint alleges that participants were put in a constant state of “fear and intimidation.” If participants wanted to use the bathroom, seminar employees would follow and stand outside the door. According to the court documents, one male participant was given a small trash can to throw up and was forced to do it in front of other attendees.

The woman claims she was forced to leave Panda Express after refusing to attend more of the seminars.

“Plaintiff went into the July Seminar hopeful and optimistic about her future at Panda Express. She left it three days later scarred and downtrodden,” the lawsuit says. “Panda Express told her to attend the Alive Seminar and made it clear that any promotion depended on it. Panda Express, however, did not care about Plaintiff’s experience at Alive Seminars or that she had been humiliated in front of her co-workers.”

“Her chances of promotion were destroyed,” the document says. “She had been forced to strip in-front of her co-workers. Plaintiff’s working conditions had become intolerable and Panda Express had no interest in addressing the situation. As a result, Plaintiff was constructively terminated from her position with Panda Express in July 2019.”

[GeneChing]

Panda Express threatened to sue local California restaurant over its name (https://www.sfgate.com/food/article/panda-express-trademark-infringement-17757621.php)

Madeline Wells
SFGATE
Feb. 1, 2023
Updated: Feb. 1, 2023 7:35 p.m.
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A Panda Express location in Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty
One day last October, local Morro Bay restaurant Panda Panda Chinese Restaurant received an unexpected letter.

“We demand that you immediately cease and desist all use” of the word “panda,” read the letter from Panda Express parent company Panda Restaurant Group, reported the San Luis Obispo Tribune. The American Chinese fast food chain threatened legal action for an alleged infringement of its trademark registration for the word.

Panda Panda Chinese had only opened six months prior. Quickly, the restaurant's owners, Xiaohan Ding and Yanzhi Liu, realized they wouldn't be able to fight the giant corporation's legal power. They capitulated to Panda Express' demands to “discard and/or destroy all materials using Panda Express marks or any variation thereof, and immediately retract all advertising materials that include any such marks, including but not limited to revising your website … signage for inside and outside,” reported the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

Panda Panda changed its name to Bamboo Bamboo Chinese Restaurant, installing a new sign just before Christmas. While there are no Panda Express stores in Morro Bay, there are two in nearby San Luis Obispo.

This isn’t the first time Panda Restaurant Group has gotten litigious over its name — the company trademarked the word “panda” for Chinese food services in 2001. In 2020, Panda Express sued Asian Mexican Phoenix restaurant Panda Libre for trademark infringement. The restaurant eventually ended up rebranding to “Kung Pow Restaurant,” according to the Arizona Republic.


Written By

Madeline Wells is a reporter for SFGATE covering food and drink in the Bay Area. She grew up in the Seattle area and received her B.A. in English and Media Studies from UC Berkeley. Prior to SFGATE, she was an associate editor at East Bay Express and freelance writer covering the Bay Area music scene. Email: madeline.wells@sfgate.com

So possessive...