Panda Express’ CEOs are on a mission to help employees own a home

Panda Express founders Andrew and Peggy Cherng want to be known for helping their workers build careers and eventually buy their own homes.

Panda Express is famous for its orange chicken. But the founders of the iconic fast-casual Asian chain also want to be known for something else: helping their workers realize the American dream.

“I always believe that when you do well, you know, personally, then you can go out and take care of other people,” said Andrew Cherng, who is co-founder, co-chair and co-CEO of Panda Express along with his wife, Peggy Cherng.

“You want people to do well,” he said. “And you want to treat them well.”

Cherng measures progress in part by how many of his managers make $100,000 or more annually. He also tracks whether those managers can afford to buy homes, and he considers that a barometer of his own success.

Yet over the past decade, that American dream of homeownership has slipped out of reach for millions of middle-class families.