After quietly closing in 2023 to refresh its interior and menu for the first time in 20 years, Pasadena’s legendary Panda Inn is finally gearing up to reopen on November 14, 2024. Husband and wife duo Andrew and Peggy Cherng, and Andrew’s father, chef Ming-Tsai Cherng, opened the original Panda Inn in Pasadena in 1973. About a decade later in 1982, the family expanded Panda Inn to Glendale before opening the first fast-casual Chinese restaurant Panda Express inside the Glendale Galleria mall in 1983.
Today, there are four standalone Panda Inn restaurants in Southern California and over 2,300 Panda Express locations worldwide . The Cherngs’ journey to opening in Pasadena began in Yangzhou, China, where Andrew and his parents were born. In 1953, the family relocated to Taipei, Taiwan, where Ming-Tsai worked at the Grand Hotel, before moving to Yokohama, Japan, in 1961 and cooking in the city’s Chinatown.
Then, in 1972, Andrew moved to Los Angeles to help his cousin run a restaurant called Ting Ho before opening the first-ever Panda Inn a year later. This version of Panda Inn will honor the journey the Cherngs took to Pasadena with a completely reimagined interior and revamped dishes. The space now features a sushi bar, a renovated outdoor patio, and a private dining area for large parties.
The menu also features dishes from Yangzhou chefs, paying tribute to the city that started it all for the Cherng family. Andrew and Peggy’s daughter Andrea Cherng, the company’s c.