Nation’s Restaurant News: Panda Express Founders Bolster Investment Group

The founders of Panda Express, Andrew and Peggy Cherng, have been very active in investing in growth concepts in recent years and don’t have any plans to slow down. According to a recent Nation’s Restaurant News article, CFT, the investment arm of Cherng Family Trust Office, hired two veteran investors, Warren Woo and Carey Do Kim.

Woo and Kim will focus their efforts on lending to companies in various sectors, expanding the alternative investment platform for CFT, and making private equity and venture investments.

“We will be very active in sourcing, underwriting and executing new investment opportunities of all types,” Woo said in a statement.

Woo is now working as the managing general partner of private investing firm, Breakaway Capital, which specializes in direct lending, while Kim was previously the managing director at Wells Fargo & Co.

The Cherngs started Panda Express in 1983 and have grown the chain to 1,900 locations. Since then, the two haven’t looked back and have made a number of investments in the restaurant business with their Panda Restaurant Group Inc. A few restaurants on their list of investments include Pieology, YakiYan, Just Salad, and Uncle Tetsu.

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