Andrew Cherng

The San Gabriel Valley entrepreneurs who brought Panda Express Chinese food to malls and airports throughout the country are now betting that Americans will want the same standardization in something a little less tasty — dry cleaning. Co-Chief Executives Andrew and Peggy Cherng, who built a fast-food empire of quick-serve Asian cooking, now want to bring the same chain-venue principle to clothes. The Cherngs' new Rosemead-based company, Panda Dry Cleaning, plans to open as many as 200 standardized shops nationwide in the next five years in conjunction with consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble.

The San Gabriel Valley entrepreneurs who brought Panda Express Chinese food to malls and airports throughout the country are now betting that Americans will want the same standardization in something a little less tasty — dry cleaning. Co-Chief Executives Andrew and Peggy Cherng, who built a fast-food empire of quick-serve Asian cooking, now want to bring the same chain-venue principle to clothes. The Cherngs' new Rosemead-based company, Panda Dry Cleaning, plans to open as many as 200 standardized shops nationwide in the next five years in conjunction with consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble.

Andrew Cherng remembers pacing through his Chinese restaurant in Pasadena wondering whether any customers would show. It was a difficult time. He had borrowed from family members and the Small Business Administration to open the eatery and had debts to pay. "People would stick their heads in and leave," Cherng recalled. His mother went out and sprinkled the sidewalk with salt, a Chinese custom to expel negative energy. It worked. Thirty-five years later, Cherng, 61, and his wife, Peggy, control one of the largest family-owned fast-food empires in America.

Andrew Cherng remembers pacing through his Chinese restaurant in Pasadena wondering whether any customers would show. It was a difficult time. He had borrowed from family members and the Small Business Administration to open the eatery and had debts to pay. "People would stick their heads in and leave," Cherng recalled. His mother went out and sprinkled the sidewalk with salt, a Chinese custom to expel negative energy. It worked. Thirty-five years later, Cherng, 61, and his wife, Peggy, control one of the largest family-owned fast-food empires in America.

Andrew Cherng started out modestly 20 years ago with the original Panda Inn, a tiny family restaurant in a converted trailer in Pasadena. Now he's the king of Chinese fast food, with a chain of more than 100 Panda Express outlets nationwide and sales expected to top $100 million this year. The secret to his success? Not ambitious planning, nor a grand vision, he maintains--not even a special Szechuan sauce. Rather, he says, he's expanded and prospered through efficiency.

Arts & Letters I.M. Pei, architect Deepak Chopra, physician-author Yo-Yo Ma, cellist Amy Tan, writer Maya Lin, sculptor David Henry Hwang, playwright * Politics & Law Joyce L. Kennard, California Supreme Court justice Ming W. Chin, California Supreme Court justice Gary Locke, governor of Washington Daniel K. Inouye, U.S. senator from Hawaii Matt Fong, California state treasurer * Business & Technology Andrea Jung, Avon Products president Robert C.

The founders and builders of Panda Express, the largest Chinese restaurant chain in history, today face the challenge that only comes to successful entrepreneurs: What do you do after you succeed? Andrew and Peggy Cherng built Panda Restaurant Group from a single Pasadena location to a national powerhouse with 423 outlets in 34 states, with 5,000 employees and about $300 million in annual sales.

Panda Express, a family-owned Chinese restaurant chain, is rolling the dice with its first-ever television ads as it expands in Las Vegas. Aimed at young adults, commercials for the South Pasadena-based chain combine traditional Chinese symbols with wry humor. One spot says consumers cannot survive on tacos, pizza and hamburgers alone--an attempt by Panda to position itself as an alternative to standard fast-food fare.

Campaign fundraising in the 2013 Los Angeles mayor's race has already exceeded $3.7 million, with the election still more than a year away. L.A. City Controller Wendy Greuel and City Councilman Eric Garcetti led the pack of candidates seeking to replace Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, topping $1 million in total donations to their respective campaigns, new reports show. Greuel raised $1.1 million last year, edging ahead of Garcetti, who reported $1,062,815 for the six-month period ending Dec. 31. Tuesday was the deadline to file reports with the city Ethics Commission.

H. Roger Wang was in a jam. He had come a long way -- emigrating from Taiwan to America, earning an MBA at Southeastern Louisiana University, managing a drug store in Los Angeles and becoming a developer with offices in Beverly Hills. By the early 1990s, he had made his way to this city in eastern China to build a 60-story office tower, using proceeds from some of his Southern California developments. But after three years, only six floors had been completed.

Andrew Cherng started out modestly 20 years ago with the original Panda Inn, a tiny family restaurant in a converted trailer in Pasadena. Now he's the king of Chinese fast food, with a chain of more than 100 Panda Express outlets nationwide and sales expected to top $100 million this year. The secret to his success? Not ambitious planning, nor a grand vision, he maintains--not even a special Szechuan sauce. Rather, he says, he's expanded and prospered through efficiency.

Los Angeles mayoral candidate Antonio Villaraigosa abruptly canceled a campaign fundraiser last week after learning that the event's co-host was Leland Wong, a former city commissioner whose political activities are being scrutinized by local and federal investigators. "It was inappropriate," Villaraigosa said, to have Wong co-host the event when he is under investigation by the U.S. attorney and the district attorney.

Chances are you've dined at a Panda Inn. They're a whoppingly successful chain of glossy, slightly Westernized Mandarin-style restaurants, located all over this part of the state. Andrew Cherng expanded his original concept a few years back with a second chain called Panda Express, designed for the Chinese food lover who hits the ground running at lunch break. Panda Expresses can be found in malls, downtown areas and commercial districts, and they've been pretty much of a big hit as well.