Supermarket food courts were a staple of life for many Americans growing up in the 1980s and 1980s, but as the way we shop changed, the chains that called food courts home had to evolve along with them. Malls aren’t completely dead, but the movement of online shopping and the decline of legacy malls like Sears and JCPenney have resulted in less foot traffic, and since 2015, 200 shopping centers were closed across the country. This means that many restaurants in shopping malls are in danger of disappearing completely. But one food court favorite didn’t just escape the market and survive—it thrived. It’s Panda Express, and it’s now one of the most successful chains in the US
Panda Express was literally born to exist in supermarket food courts. Owned by the Cherng family, who have run the business since its inception, Panda Express was originally an offshoot of Panda Inn, the original family restaurant. in 1973 The Panda Inn, which opened in Pasadena, California, was a popular casual dining restaurant. It reached an audience beyond the Chinese and Americans living in the area and caught the attention of some local developers who were fans. They were looking to expand the nearby Glendale Galleria shopping center and asked the Cherngs to develop a new quick service concept to open there. The spinoff was named Panda Express, and the first mall location opened in 1983.
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Panda Express has successfully implemented menu innovation and the popularity of its signature orange chicken
Panda Express storefront – Robert V Schwemmer/Shutterstock
The most iconic part of Panda Express’ business is what has led to the restaurant’s success so far. Just a few years after opening, Panda Express debuted what would become its signature dish: orange chicken. The recipe was original to Panda Express and was developed from several other dishes it served, including chicken with tangerine peels at Panda Inn and a bone-in chicken dish created for the chain’s Hawaii location. It was created by Andy Kao, a classically trained chef from Taiwan who was the company’s executive chef at the time.
The Chinese-American fare, a term Panda Express proudly uses, helped the chain reach a new audience and fueled its massive early growth. Today, it continues to sell more than 110 million pounds of orange chicken annually, largely due to early recognition of the risks of the supermarket business. In the 1990s, the owners of Panda Express realized that traffic depended more on the mall than the restaurant itself. It was a convenience food, not something people specifically sought out. However, this is not necessarily the case.
Wanting to take her destiny into her own hands, in 1997 Panda Express has opened its first stand-alone store. Orange Chicken’s allure was still going strong, and today the chain has expanded to more than 2,500 locations in the U.S., less than 200 of which are in supermarkets.
From the beginning, Panda Express has relied on constant evolution and menu innovation
Panda Express takeaway food on counter – The Image Party / Shutterstock
From debuting new menu items to reshaping Panda Express’ core operations, the spirit of risk-taking has continued to drive the fast-food chain’s success. Panda Express recognizes that customers’ tastes are changing, and while it maintains the quality of its signature dishes such as orange chicken and honey walnut shrimp, it also puts a lot of effort into creating new recipes that keep appearing on the menu.
Many different concepts are tried every year, but only a few actually meet the quality standards and end up on the menu. In recent years, Panda Express has expanded its healthy menu selection under the Wok Smart label. She also recognized America’s growing familiarity with Asian food and worked to create recipes based on authentic regional Chinese dishes rather than classic Chinese-American dishes.
Finally, Panda Express has always taken employee development very seriously, including internal development and promotion. The company promotes a culture of self-improvement and considers good treatment of employees as a core value. It’s not just talk either, as Panda Express is consistently ranked as one of the best places to work in the US and scores well above average in employee satisfaction surveys.
It turns out that cooking good, fresh food and having employees who really feel like part of a team is the key to a restaurant’s success. Sometimes it’s that simple.
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Read the original article Tasting table.