Panda Restaurant Group tops this year’s Business Journal’s list of the largest L.A. County businesses owned by women. The Rosemead-based company leads for the third consecutive year as revenues grew to $1.1 billion in 2007, up $182 million from 2006.

Panda Restaurant Group operates several Asian-themed restaurant chains, including its popular Panda Express. The company has a total of 1,112 restaurant locations operating in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Japan. Each location is company owned as Panda does not offer franchise opportunities.

The company relaunched its Panda Inn concept as an upscale restaurant last year when it opened a location at Universal Studios City Walk. It has since opened five other Panda Inn locations in Southern California, including two in Glendale and Pasadena.

Founded in 1973 by Andrew Cherng, Panda has grown into the leading Chinese quick service restaurant in the country. Cherng and his wife, Peggy, started growing the company by adding locations in malls, but have moved into different types of properties as they try to reach their goal of $2 billion in annual revenues by 2010.

One target growth areas is free-standing locations. The company looks for sites where there is a strong mix of business and residential as well as going-home traffic.

Overall, Panda employs more than 17,000 people. One of them, a chef from a Honolulu location, is in China this week for the Beijing Olympics. Chef Anju Jason will be competing in tae kwon do for the Marshall Islands’ team. He is the first athlete to ever qualify for the Olympics from Marshall Islands.