Customers wait in line outside of Panda Express on Tuesday. The fast food chain held a grand opening celebration and drew large crowds all day.
– Ken Wattana
Palo Alto High School students now have a new place to grab lunch with the grand opening of Panda Express on El Camino Real yesterday.
Although the fast food restaurant opened for business last Thursday, Tuesday was the official opening complete with free food and prizes. A large inflatable panda perched atop the building, located at 2310 El Camino Real. According to Google Maps, it is only a three minute drive from Paly. Panda Express was under construction for several months and replaced Jade Palace Peking Duck.
Panda Express offered a free 2-entrée plate and a 22 oz. fountain drink to the public from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.. The restaurant had a tent outside with a Wheel of Fortune-style spinner that gave customers the opportunity to win Panda Express related prizes. There was also an employee in a large panda suit who entertained patrons waiting in line outside.
According to region manager Gary Legaspi, the wait for food averaged around 15 to 20 minutes all day. At 6:40 p.m., the line wrapped almost completely around the building. Legaspi said that the dinner crowd was even larger than the lunch rush.
The Facebook group promoting the event had 1,327 people attending as of today. Legaspi estimates that Panda Express will have served around 3,000 meals by the end of the day.
“We just want to give out something for the community since we just opened a few days ago,” Legaspi said. “Hopefully it will make people more aware of the location and bring in more crowds later on.”
In the evening, the grand opening drew an eager crowd of Paly students from the softball, baseball and swim teams who came after practice and games. Senior Drake Swezey was waiting in line with several members from the baseball team.
“Not only is it free, but it might be some of the best fast food around here,” Swezey said. “This is this week’s team dinner.”
Panda Express is a national chain founded in 1973 that operated over 1,300 restaurants last year, according to its website.