Asia Society Southern California » Andrew Cherng Bio (original) (raw)
Andrew J.C. Cherng
Founder and Chairman, Panda Restaurant Group, Inc.
Andrew J.C. Cherng is the founder and chairman of the board for Panda Restaurant Group (PRG). The PRG mission to deliver exceptional Asian dining experiences by building an organization where people are inspired to better their lives has helped to establish PRG as the nationwide leader in Chinese food service, grossing more than $900 million system-wide in 2006.
Cherng along with his father, Master Chef Ming Tsai Cherng, combined their talents in 1973 to create and open Panda Inn, one of the first Chinese Restaurants in Pasadena, California. The menu was cutting edge, blending the styles of Mandarin and Szechwan, introducing a new flavor to Southern California Cuisine. Soon the restaurant gained immense popularity and today there are six locations in Southern California.
Cherng later had a vision to create an innovative restaurant that combined gourmet-style Mandarin cuisine in a quick service environment, launching Panda Express in 1983. Panda Express restaurants have expanded to more than 950 locations throughout 36 states and Puerto Rico. Cherng later took this concept forward to develop Hibachi-San, a chain of 27 quick service restaurants featuring Japanese hibachi grill cooking.
Cherng has received several “Entrepreneur of the Year” awards from the restaurant industry and from business organizations honoring his leadership and vision. In 1994, the Los Angeles Business Journal profiled Cherng and PRG as a “Top 200” minority-owned business and in 1995, Panda Express was recognized by Nation’s Restaurant News as one of the “Top 100” restaurant chains.
In addition to his tireless work with PRG, Cherng has endowed works in China through the Panda Cares Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Panda Restaurant Group. Cherng also serves on the Board of Advisors for the Collins School of Hospitality Management at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
In 1997, Cherng and his wife and PRG Co-Chair Peggy, on behalf of the Panda Restaurant Group adopted Pei-Pei, now a full grown panda, living in the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Center in China.