Japanese Cheesecake Makes Cut

0

Panda Restaurant Group, owner of the Panda Express restaurant chain, is bringing Japanese cheesecake chain Uncle Tetsu to the United States.

After opening a first store in Honolulu in March, Rosemead-based Panda, the American franchiser of the brand, opened its first U.S. mainland location at the Westfield Santa Anita Shopping Center in Arcadia last month.

“Our partnership offers a deep network of insight and restaurant expertise, which will ultimately aid in establishing Uncle Tetsu’s footprint in North America,” Andrew Cherng, who co-founded Panda with his wife, Peggy, in 1973, said in a statement.

Uncle Tetsu, which has 80 locations worldwide, was founded by Tetsushi Mizokami in Hakata, Japan, in 1985. In the past year, the chain debuted in Canada and Australia. Mizokami developed the recipe, which is lighter than American cheesecake and more like a soufflé.

Panda decided to open a store in Arcadia after mall developer Westfield Corp., which has a relationship with Panda, reached out about opening a restaurant in the Arcadia mall’s new Asian food hall, said Glenn Inanaga, Panda’s senior vice president of business development at Uncle Tetsu. Those plans were already in place when the Hawaii location opened; the timing of the opening was dependent on construction, he said.

Offerings include the original version of the cake, chocolate and coffee versions, and Asian-inspired tea drinks. Individual cheesecakes are sold for $8.75.

Panda is considering opening more stores in the United States, but hasn’t yet announced locations. The Panda and Uncle Tetsu brands will remain separate, Inanaga said.

“The idea is to have each brand stand on its own and demonstrate its viability,” he said.

– Caroline Anderson

No posts to display