Panda Express inches toward opening 2 new locations in Visalia

Lauren Jennings, Visalia Times-Delta
·2 min read
Construction on Visalia's newest South Mooney Boulevard restaurant, Panda Express, began recently. The eatery will be located next door to Texas Roadhouse, which is scheduled to open this December.
Construction on Visalia's newest South Mooney Boulevard restaurant, Panda Express, began recently. The eatery will be located next door to Texas Roadhouse, which is scheduled to open this December.

Panda Express is inching closer to opening two new locations in Visalia as construction and progress continues heading into February.

Work on the South Mooney Boulevard location started in 2022, shortly after construction of the Texas Roadhouse began. A few months later, a sign behind the Dutch Bros on South Akers Street popped up. Dutch Bros just opened last week. Texas Roadhouse, with wait times nearly three hours on weekends, opened in December.

The first Panda Express in Visalia will remain on Mooney next to Good Times Cafe.

Panda Express is working on opening two locations in Visalia – one off of South Mooney Boulevard and Visalia Parkway, near the Texas Roadhouse, and another off of Akers Street and West Cypress Avenue, behind Dutch Bros.
Panda Express is working on opening two locations in Visalia – one off of South Mooney Boulevard and Visalia Parkway, near the Texas Roadhouse, and another off of Akers Street and West Cypress Avenue, behind Dutch Bros.

The Panda restaurant chain offers customers quick American Chinese Cuisine and is known for its classic orange chicken and spicy kung pao chicken, both inspired by the Sichuan Province, as well as its grilled teriyaki chicken, honey walnut shrimp and broccoli beef, inspired by Hong Kong.

Each meal is inspired by regional Chinese cuisine, combining Chinese roots with an American twist.

Panda Express chefs use 8-pound woks, cooking in small batches over an open flame in order to achieve “Wok Hei” -- or “breath of the wok” with each meal. Wok Hei is “a quintessential feature of Cantonese cooking,” according to the Michelin Guide.

The restaurant chain removed high-fructose corn syrup from its menu in 2021 and provides customers balanced options based on USDA dietary recommendations. Each of the three set meals has fresh vegetables and one serving of fruit, and is less than 600 calories.

The Panda Express on South Mooney Boulevard and West Visalia Parkway is scheduled to open around March 2023. The Panda Express on South Akers Street and West Cypress Avenue should open around May 2023.

Panda Express Fun Facts

  • The very first Panda Express opened in 1983 in the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California.

  • Panda Express' original orange chicken recipe was developed in 1987.

  • The restaurant's Beijing beef recipe was unveiled in 2008 as Panda Express celebrated its 25th anniversary.

  • Panda Express opened its 2,000th location in 2020.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Panda Express inches toward opening 2 new locations in Visalia