{"id":358936,"date":"2026-07-31T15:29:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T15:29:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/358936\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T15:29:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T15:29:11","slug":"panda-express-opens-in-apollo-beach-with-donation-to-charity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/358936\/","title":{"rendered":"Panda Express Opens In Apollo Beach With Donation To Charity"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Local flavor just got a major upgrade. Panda Express, the nation\u2019s largest American Chinese dining concept, officially opened its highly anticipated, first-ever Apollo Beach location on Thursday, July 16, drawing crowds of excited residents eager for a taste of the brand\u2019s signature flavors.<\/p>\n

The brand-new restaurant, located at 5577 N. U.S. 41, kicked off its grand opening with a lively community celebration and official ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9:30 a.m. The energy was high as the first 88 guests waiting in line were rewarded with exclusive, limited-edition \u2018Hot Orange Chicken\u2019 T-shirts.<\/p>\n

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A key highlight of the opening festivities was Panda Express\u2019s immediate commitment to supporting the local community.<\/p>\n

During the opening ceremony, restaurant leadership presented a $1,000 donation check to the Wimauma Boys & Girls Club at Bethune Park. The funds will directly support the club\u2019s vital after-school programs and local youth outreach efforts.<\/p>\n

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In addition to bringing its world-famous wok-fired dishes to town, the new location provides a welcome boost to the local economy, employing nearly 40 community members.<\/p>\n

The spacious restaurant seats up to 54 guests and showcases the company\u2019s modern \u2018Panda Home\u2019 design, which beautifully blends Eastern and Western architectural aesthetics. Guests dining inside will experience a vibrant atmosphere featuring traditional red lanterns, a stunning moon gate portal and vibrant, eye-catching, Chinatown-style signs.<\/p>\n

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For busy families and commuters looking for a quick meal on the run, the location also features a convenient, state-of-the-art double drive-through designed to keep service moving quickly.<\/p>\n

With its doors now officially open, Apollo Beach\u2019s newest culinary landmark is ready to serve up fresh, delicious favorites to the neighborhood daily.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Local flavor just got a major upgrade. Panda Express, the nation\u2019s largest American Chinese dining concept, officially opened…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358937,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-358936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=358936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/358936\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=358936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=358936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=358936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}