Panda Express to donate profits to P.S.-I.S. 104

January 30, 2018 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Panda Express will celebrate its grand opening on Feb. 2 by giving a portion of its profits to a public school in Bay Ridge. Eagle photo by Paula Katinas

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The owners of a new Asian-inspired fast food restaurant opening up in Bay Ridge are making themselves at home in their new neighborhood by doing a good deed for local school children.

Panda Express, which is set to open at 416 86th St. on Friday, Feb. 2, is donating 20 percent of its opening day profits to P.S./I.S. 104, an elementary-intermediate school in Bay Ridge.

It’s perhaps no accident that P.S./I.S. 104 was selected by the owners of Panda Express to receive a donation. Located at 9115 Fifth Ave., the school has a longstanding tradition of recognizing the accomplishments of civic do-gooders in Bay Ridge. The PTA hosts a Brotherhood Tea each year and presents an award to a community leader.

The California-based owners of the Panda Express restaurant chain announced the donation plans this week.

The grand opening of the new eatery will also include workers handing out fortune cookies and coupons to shoppers on 86th Street.

“We look forward to introducing our delicious American Chinese comfort food to even more guests in the area. As we continue to expand our footprint on the East Coast, our associates feel honored to bring our community-centric culture and signature service to Brooklyn,” Yingying Chen, area coach of operations for Panda Express, said in a statement.

Panda Express will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. The menu items include Original Orange Chicken, SweetFire Chicken Breast, Honey Walnut Shrimp and Shanghai Angus Steak.

From opening day through March 27, the restaurant will serve a limited time menu featuring a “WokSmart” entree that has strips of all-white meat chicken breasts, diced Chinese sausage, red and green bell peppers, celery, fermented black beans and whole dry chili peppers in a savory sauce.

As Panda Express establishes a foothold in Bay Ridge, it will continue to explore ways it can perform charitable endeavors in the community, the restaurant’s representatives said.

The new eatery, located in the heart of the Bay Ridge 86th Street Business Improvement District, will provide jobs for more than 20 Brooklyn residents, representatives said.

Founded in 1983, Panda Express is part of the Panda Restaurant Group. The company owns more than 2,000 locations throughout the U.S. mainland, Puerto Rico, Guam, Guatemala, Canada, Mexico, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Japan and South Korea.

For more information on Panda Express, visit www.pandaexpress.com.