New Panda Express opens in Davenport

Richard Bechert says his grandson loves eating at Panda Express fast food restaurants. He loves it so much that the young man wanted to be at the grand opening of a new Panda Express restaurant at 4711 E. 53rd St., Davenport, on Wednesday morning, March 26. “But he’s a University of Iowa student and couldn’t […]

Richard Bechert says his grandson loves eating at Panda Express fast food restaurants. He loves it so much that the young man wanted to be at the grand opening of a new Panda Express restaurant at 4711 E. 53rd St., Davenport, on Wednesday morning, March 26. “But he’s a University of Iowa student and couldn’t make it here. So, he asked me ‘Grandpa, can you go to the opening for me?’” said Mr. Bechert of Eldridge.

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That turned out to be a big favor. That’s because Mr. Bechert decided he wanted to be first in line when Panda Express opened for business Wednesday morning. He did that by arriving at the restaurant several hours before the 9:30 a.m. opening and waited in his car for the doors to open. For his initiative, the Eldridge man got to pose with a sign stating “First Panda Express Guest” as part of the grand opening celebrations on Wednesday. (Actually, by the time all the ceremonies were over and there was a big rush to the food counter when the doors opened, the Eldridge man was about fifth in line to get Panda Express food.) “I think that’s fantastic. It shows you what the brand can build in the community,” said Joshua Mortensen, manager of the new restaurant, which is next to the Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh store off East 53rd Street. In addition to honoring its first official customer, Wednesday’s opening ceremonies included a Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony, the unveiling of a small panda statue in front of the business, plenty of music by local high school musicians, a big inflatable panda in front of the business and a person dressed in a black-and-white panda costume, who greeted customers and posed for a lot of photos. The opening also featured greetings from the Panda Express staff. When somebody walked through the front doors, staff members shouted out: “Hi. Welcome to Pandas. Welcome.” “It’s so much fun to hear that,” said Deanna Jensen-Valliere, Quad Cities Chamber manager of member engagement, during the grand opening ceremonies. The new Panda Express actually had its soft opening on Monday, March 24. The first few days have been good as many people have been discovering the new eatery is open for business. “The response has been great. … People are happy we’re here,” said Mr. Mortensen. Here are more details on the new Panda Express and the company:

• Number of employee: About 38. Mr. Mortensen said he is always looking for more good employees. Go here for more information about Panda Express jobs.
• Hours: Open seven days a week, 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• Menu: Some items include original orange chicken, honey walnut shrimp, black pepper sirloin steak, broccoli beef, kung pao chicken, honey sesame chicken breast and sweet chicken breast.
• Total number of restaurants: There are more than 2,300 Panda Express restaurants. In addition to the U.S., Panda Express has sites in Mexico, Canada, South Korea, Guam and Dubai. The chain opened its 2,000th site in 2020.
• History: Founded by Andrew Cherng in 1983 at the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California.
• Headquarters: Rosemead, California.