This Food Court Staple Found A Way To Survive — And Thrive — After The Downfall Of Malls

Mall food courts were a fixture of life for many Americans who grew up in the 80s and 90s, but as the way people shop evolves, the chains that called food courts home have had to evolve with them. Malls are not completely dead, but the movement of shopping online and the decline of old mall-anchor retailers like Sears and JCPenney has led to drops in foot traffic has led to the closure of 200 malls around the country since 2015. This means that many mall food court restaurants are in danger of disappearing completely. But one food court favorite hasn't just escaped the market and survived — it's thrived. That's Panda Express, and it is now one of the most successful chains in the U.S.

Panda Express was quite literally born to exist in mall food courts. Owned by the Cherng family, which has run the business since its founding, Panda Express was originally an offshoot of Panda Inn, the family's original restaurant. Opened in Pasadena, California in 1973, Panda Inn was a popular sit-down neighborhood restaurant. It reached an audience beyond the Chinese-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 Mall, and asked the Cherngs to develop a new quick-service concept that would open there. The spinoff was dubbed Panda Express, and the first location opened in the mall in 1983.

The most iconic part of Panda Express' business is what has driven the success of the restaurant to this day. Only a few years after opening, Panda Express debuted what would become its signature dish: orange chicken. The recipe was a Panda Express original, and it evolved from a few other dishes that it had been serving, including a tangerine-peel chicken at Panda Inn and a bone-in chicken dish created for the chain's location in Hawaii. Its creation is credited to Andy Kao, a classically trained chef from Taiwan who was the company's executive chef at the time. 

The Chinese-American dish – a term Panda Express proudly embraces – helped the chain reach new audiences and propelled its massive early growth. Today, it continues to sell more than 110 million pounds of orange chicken each year, largely because of its recognized the risk of business in malls early. In the 90s, Panda Express ownership realized that traffic was more dependent on the mall than the restaurant itself. It was a food of convenience, not something people were specifically seeking out. But, that's not necessarily the case any more. 

To take its destiny into its own hands, Panda Express opened its first stand-alone store in 1997. The allure of orange chicken was still strong, and today the chain has expanded to over 2,500 locations in the U.S. — of which less than 200 are in malls.

From debuting new menu items to altering the Panda Express's core business, the spirit of taking risks has continued to drive the fast food chain's success. Panda Express recognizes that customer tastes change, and while it maintains the quality of its signature dishes like the orange chicken and honey walnut shrimp, it also puts lots of effort in developing new recipes that continuously appear on the menu. 

Many different concepts are tested each year, but only a few end up actually meeting the quality standards to get on the menu. In recent years Panda Express has expanded its lineup of healthy menu options, which carry the "Wok Smart" label. It has also recognized the growing American familiarity with Asian food, and worked to develop recipes based on real regional Chinese dishes as opposed to its classic Chinese-American ones.

Finally, Panda Express has always taken employee development very seriously, including internal development and promotions. The company encourages a culture of self-improvement, and it considers treating employees well a core value. It's not just talk either, as Panda Express is consistently listed as one of the best places to work in the U.S., and scores well above average in surveys of employee satisfaction. 

It turns out that making good, fresh food and having employees that actually feel like a part of the team are key to a restaurant's success. Sometimes it is that simple.