Popular American-Chinese fast food chain to open new Western WA location

Get ready, Yelm. Chinese fast food is coming your way.

A new Panda Express is coming to the city’s downtown, set to open in February 2027, according to Mayor Joe DePinto.

The restaurant will be at 1104 Yelm Ave. East, next to KeyBank. It will be 2,600 square feet with a drive-thru, according to a notice of application with the city.

Panda Express has six Pierce County locations, and the two closest locations to Yelm are in Lacey and Spanaway.

The global fast-casual chain offers entrees like orange chicken, honey walnut shrimp rice and broccoli beef, alongside fried rice, chow mein or veggies. The menu includes spring rolls, egg rolls and cream cheese rangoons.

The chain also just introduced a limited-time Cantonese BBQ Brisket entree.

Minnie Stephenson

The News Tribune

Minnie Stephenson covers restaurant and business news in and around Tacoma for The News Tribune. She has previously worked for WBZ NewsRadio in Boston and the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism. Through the Howard Center, she worked on the Associated Press investigation “Lethal Restraint,” which was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2025. She grew up in Marshfield, Massachusetts and graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Maryland.