SOUTH PASADENA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Panda Management Co. Inc., the nation's largest Chinese foodservice provider and parent company for popular restaurant concepts, including Panda Express, Panda Inn and Hibachi-San, is announcing its corporate name change to Panda Restaurant Group Inc.

``The name `Panda Restaurant Group' truly represents who our company is today,'' said Andrew Cherng, founder and chairman of the privately held and family-owned Panda Restaurant Group. ``As an American company with a Chinese heritage, the cherished panda remains in our name.

``Restaurant has been added to our corporate name to better reflect who we are and what we do. Most importantly, our company is built upon and growing due to our group of more than 5,000 hard-working and dedicated employees,'' Cherng said.

Cherng and his wife Peggy, president and CEO for Panda Restaurant Group, built their family-owned company from one Southern California Panda Inn location in 1973 to more than 450 restaurant locations throughout 35 states, Puerto Rico and Japan.

Andrew Cherng pioneered the Chinese quick-service concept in 1983 with the start of Panda Express, adapting recipes from his full-service Panda Inn restaurants which originated from his late father, Master Chef Ming-Tsai Cherng.

Panda Restaurant Group (www.pandarg.com) has revenues of more than $325 million and expects to open a total of 75 restaurants by the end of 2001, marking the most number of new restaurant locations opened in one year for the company.

Based in South Pasadena, Panda Restaurant Group also has a 40 percent ownership stake in FoodBrand, L.L.C, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mills Corp., one of the nation's leading shopping center developers.