Panda Express, a fast-food chain serving Chinese food, is coming to Stephenville soon. All of the pre-building plans have been made and the only thing left is waiting on the developers to sign off on the property. The restaurant will be located on the west side of town next to Pastafina. There is no set date as to when construction will begin, but Deputy City Administrator Jeremy Allen said that he’s been told once the first day the ground breaks, the restaurant will be completed 120 days after.

The final plans are supposed to be made in the next week or so, so be on the lookout for Panda Express next semester. According to Allen, a common misconception with businesses is that towns seek them out to bring revenue.

He said that “businesses choose us. We don’t choose them.”

The majority of businesses know the demographics and they decide to come here. They reach out to the city and formulate plans based on those demographics.

Almost everything is in place to start building. The paperwork has been completed and cleared with the city, and the Texas Department of Transportation has given the permit for the driveway. Now all that’s needed is the “go ahead” from the property owner. This is out of the city’s hands, so it’s now up to the individual owner as to when the building process begins.

Applications to be an employee have not been made available yet online, but they are looking for a manager. You can find that application by visiting the Panda Express jobs website, pandacareers.com, and searching for “Texas” in the location box.