Panda-monium quickly fades as restaurant rumor debunked
It hasn’t quite been pandemonium since the rumor began
circulating that Panda Express was coming to Hollister. But some
Panda fans could almost taste the orange chicken already earlier
this week.
A flyer posted on a window at Safeway last weekend said that the
popular Chinese fast food place was coming to Hollister, though it
didn’t offer specifics, such as a date or location. Some people
surmised it would take the place of the recently-closed Blockbuster
video store near Target.
Panda-monium quickly fades as restaurant rumor debunked
It hasn’t quite been pandemonium since the rumor began circulating that Panda Express was coming to Hollister. But some Panda fans could almost taste the orange chicken already earlier this week.
A flyer posted on a window at Safeway last weekend said that the popular Chinese fast food place was coming to Hollister, though it didn’t offer specifics, such as a date or location. Some people surmised it would take the place of the recently-closed Blockbuster video store near Target.
A call to Safeway on Monday only confirmed that the flyer was posted and that employees were talking about the possibility of the national chain coming to town, but beyond that it was a cold trail.
Hollister Development Services Director William Avera said the Panda rumors were just that, as far as he knew, and a representative from the company’s headquarters said she wasn’t aware of the restaurant opening in Hollister.
“I’m looking into it too,” said Thien Ho in Panda’s corporate relations office in Rosemead, Calif. “That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
Anyone who has lived in Hollister long enough has heard similar rumors before. Denny’s, Applebee’s, Carl’s Jr., Jamba Juice: those are just a few of the national chains that have been rumored to have Hollister in their sights, only to ultimately let us down. A deal was in place to bring Lowe’s to town near the Hwy. 25 bypass, but that remains on hold.
It was a big deal when McDonald’s opened on San Felipe Road when I was in high school. Later came Wendy’s and Taco Bell and Burger King and Target and Starbucks and more Starbucks.
Looking at Panda’s site standards from its corporate website, the company is looking for locations in “Regional and Super Regional Shopping Centers; in high visibility power centers; at major street intersections; on university campuses; in sports arenas; casinos; grocery stores; and other non-traditional food court sites.”
They want a residential population of more than 65,000 with average daily traffic of 45,000 cars.
None of those requirements make Hollister look like a promising location, but who knows? The Blockbuster site is near national chains like Target and Baskin-Robbins and Staples.
As it turns out, further checking seems to indicate that the Panda Express rumors are worth little more than the contents of a fortune cookie.
The Panda rep got back to me later in the day on Monday and said, “While we would love to have a Panda Express in Hollister, we do not have a site secured. The flyers you saw were not put out by us and we do not know their origins.”
On Tuesday, John Kent of Pacific Oak Properties – which leases the building that housed Blockbuster – said he had heard the rumors as well, but they are not true.
“I have no idea how those rumors get started,” he said. “I’m dealing with the Panda people in the vacant Hollywood Video store in Gilroy,” but there have been no discussions about a location in Hollister. In fact, he said, “they got a chuckle out of it. They want to come, but I’m not sure we’re going to subdivide the space, which is 5,000 square feet, if we can find someone to rent the entire space.”
So for now, San Benito County residents who crave black pepper chicken or Beijing beef will have to drive to Gilroy to visit Panda Express. We of course have some quality Chinese places at which to eat locally, but I know the teens in the Breen household would love to be able to pile up a plate from the national chain without having to leave town.
My column will be taking a summer break next week, but it will return the week after that, tanned and refreshed. I, on the other hand, will be sunburned and road-weary.
Adam Breen teaches newspaper and yearbook classes at San Benito High School and is a reporter for The Pinnacle. He is former editor of the Free Lance. He can be reached by e-mail at ab****@pi**********.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamPBreen.
