????程：一開始，我們把開出的這些熊貓快餐廳都視為一個個獨立的門店，并沒有太多的基本構造或是控制。到了80年代末90年代初，我們就開始實驗一種創新。馮氏超市集團（Vons）總裁比爾?達維拉也是我們餐廳的顧客，我說服他將我們的餐廳開在馮氏超市內。那時才是我們第一次把熊貓快餐廳開在商場之外的地方。我當時很保守，所以店面都很小，每周的平均營收只有6,000到7,000美元。

????蔣：在商場里，購物的顧客很自然地就會光顧餐廳。因此，要想在街道上吸引更多的客流量的確是個更大的挑戰。所以當時我們就搞了一些街頭營銷活動，比如顯眼的餐廳門牌，再比如打折促銷等。我們可以肯定的是，亞洲菜肴在當地很受歡迎，而且房租也不貴，這樣可以確保我們的利潤率。最佳的位置就是街角，無論白天還是晚上，人流量都很大。

????程：我當時主要負責開新店和餐廳運營，而佩琪負責其他的事宜。

????蔣：作為工程師，我清楚地知道我們需要一個系統。我們是1980年代最早使用電腦的餐廳之一，這樣可以使點餐更加便捷。電腦還可以搜集各家門店中哪些菜品最受顧客歡迎，同時匯總至總部辦公室。我們借此可以獲得更多的運營信息。

????程：在這個過程中，我們的餐廳面積越來越大，環境也越來越好，顧客的就餐體驗也就更佳。我們食材的采購成本較高，因此我就想要降低人工成本。但只有優質的服務才能帶來更多的生意，所以對員工也不能過于吝嗇。于是我們就讓員工進行輪崗訓練，讓他們可以一人勝任多項任務。

????蔣：80年代末，中餐館給人的印象就是夫妻經營的小店，沒有成規模的連鎖企業。1973年以前，中餐館只供應炒雜燴菜。隨著越來越多華裔移民的到來，各式廚藝技能和菜系也豐富起來，而熊貓快餐廳的菜單上也開始出現更復雜和地道的菜品。

????程：我們做了40年餐飲生意，沒從投資者那里拿過一分錢，也從未跟銀行借過太多貸款。我們有著健康的資產負債表和根本用不完的銀行的貸款授信額度。

????蔣：1997年，我們總共已經擁有了254家餐廳，總營收達到1.78億美元。從那時起，我們就定下目標要成為一家十億美元級的企業。到那時，我們就會形成完整的供應鏈體系，即通過第三方供應商向各家餐廳供貨，而我們則通過連鎖經營的管理哲學來運營企業。

????程：大部分餐廳都是我們直營的。當我們和大學這樣的機構合作時，我們會發放加盟執照授權它們經營并會幫助它們發展壯大。我們對質量會進行監督和控制，但餐飲業說到底還是要授權給員工，讓他們發揮主人翁精神。如果員工沒有成長的動力，競爭對手隨時就會到來，而你的生意就會破產。

????蔣： 正昌是能夠推動成長進步的夢想家。而我卻喜歡系統性進程。因此，我的工作就是研究如何怎樣才能成長。夫妻關系并不意味著工作上的合作就一定會愉快，但我們都學會了如何去處理工作上的分歧。有時并不一定要爭“到底是你對還是我對”，最好的方法是把所有人的想法融匯、交織在一起。2010年，我們實現了當年的目標，年銷售額達到了10.69億美元。

????Andrew: At first we looked at them like a collection of individual restaurants. We didn't have much infrastructure or control. In the late '80s and early '90s we began to experiment. I talked to Bill Davila [president of Vons], who was a customer. I convinced him to put us in Vons supermarkets. Then we began to put Panda Express outside the malls. I was conservative, so we opened small spaces that averaged $6,000 to $7,000 a week in revenue back then.

????Peggy: Inside the mall, shoppers are your customers. It was more challenging to drive traffic to the street locations. So we did street marketing with door hangers and a discount program. We made sure that Asian cuisine was desirable in the area and there was a reasonable rent to ensure profit. The best location was on a corner, for good daytime traffic and nighttime access.

????Andrew: I'm the one who dealt with getting the stores open and functioning. After that, Peggy took care of the rest of it.

????Peggy: It was clear to me as an engineer that you need a system. We were one of the first companies to use a computer in the 1980s, which made ordering easier. It could collect information about the most popular items people ordered by networking the stores to the corporate office. So we had more information.

????Andrew: In the process, we made the restaurants bigger and improved the ambiance. That made a difference in people's perception. Our food costs are on the higher side, so I wanted labor costs to be on the lower side. Good service can create more business, so you don't want to be too lean. We cross-train people and have them multitask.

????Peggy: In the late '80s, Chinese food meant mom-and-pop restaurants. There were no chains. Before 1973, Chinese restaurants offered chop suey. As more Chinese immigrants came, they brought their cooking skills and cuisines. Panda Express moved the cuisine into more sophisticated, authentic food.

????Andrew: This is our 40th year in business. We don't have a single penny from outside investors, and we never borrowed heavily from the banks. We have a healthy balance sheet and more credit than we can use.

????Peggy: In 1997 we had 254 stores, and the revenue was $178.7 million. That's when we set a goal of being a billion-dollar company. By then we had a supply-chain system that distributed to the stores through a third-party vendor and operated under a chain mentality.

????Andrew: Most of our stores are company owned. When we deal with an institution, like universities, we license its operation and help it get set up. We have supervision and training for quality control, but business is really about empowering people to act like owners themselves. If people aren't inspired to grow, another business comes in next door, and you go out of business.

????Peggy: Andrew is the visionary who pushes for growth. I like my system process, so I work on how to enable the growth. Being married does not always make working together easy. We had to learn how to resolve business disagreements. It's not "Your way is best" or "My way is best," but the alternative way -- which incorporates everybody's ideas -- is best. In 2010 we reached our goal and had sales of $1.069 billion.