Panda Express continues looking for new locations in Jacksonville, proposing a new site at 50 Riverside Avenue in Brooklyn Place.
The company recently submitted a building permit application to move into the former home of Bento Asian Kitchen & Sushi, which closed in the Brooklyn area of Downtown in May, according to Jacksonville Daily Record. The city is reviewing the $500,000 project, which is set to have 62 indoor seats and none outside. If approved, the new Panda Express will sit next to Chop Barber Shop and Chipotle. There’s no timeline for this opening, as plans are still being reviewed.
Panda Express made news earlier this month by announcing the return of Beyond Orange Chicken following a successful petition that gathered over 7,000 signatures. The company partnered with Beyond Meat in 2021 to co-develop a non-meat version of its classic Original Orange Chicken, and it quickly became a success in New York City and Southern California. Now, the company is bringing the menu item back for a limited time. While it’s back for a short time, a spokesperson for the company says that if consumer enthusiasm continues, there’s potential for expansion into additional locations.
“We received an overwhelmingly positive guest response when we introduced Beyond The Original Orange Chicken at select locations earlier this year,” Jimmy Wang, executive director of culinary innovation at Panda Express, said in a statement in 2021. “In fact, we wok-fired more than 1,300 pounds of Beyond The Original Orange Chicken in just the first day. It’s one of Panda’s most successful regional launches to date, which further reinforces the desire we’re seeing from our guests for more diverse and plant-based options.”
