Pei Wei Asian Diner will move its headquarters from Scottsdale, Ariz., home of its parent company P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, to Irving, Texas, by year’s end, the company announced Wednesday.
The 200-unit fast-casual brand said the move comes as part of the process to separate from the casual-dining P.F. Chang’s and locates the company in the market with 28 Pei Wei units, giving North Texas the highest concentration of concept units.
“We are very excited to relocate to the Dallas-Fort Worth area, which is home to some of our most loyal guests and highest-performing restaurants,” said John “J.” Hedrick, Pei Wei CEO, in a statement. The decision was announced Wednesday afternoon to Scottsdale headquarters employees.
The new headquarters will be in the Las Colinas division of Irving, which provided economic incentives along with the State of Texas, the company said. Pei Wei operates in 21 states.
“We didn’t make this decision lightly. Scottsdale is an extraordinary city that has been our hometown since the brand’s inception in 2000,” Hedrick said. “But our new leadership team felt that the timing was right to make this move, as we chart a new direction for the brand, its operations and our corporate culture.”
Hedrick cited the relocation help of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Irving Mayor Rick Stopfer and Beth Bowman, president and CEO of the Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce.
“We chose North Texas for many reasons, including its business-friendly climate, strong transportation infrastructure and deep talent pool,” Hedrick said.
He said Pei Wei plans to employ 30 people at the headquarters by the end of 2017, but he did not estimate how many current corporate workers would make the move.
The Pei Wei executive team plans to relocate to temporary office space by early September, with the full headquarters move to the Las Colinas Highlands office tower completed by year’s end.
Hedrick said a test kitchen will be built at the new headquarters, mirroring what the brand did at its Scottsdale offices.
In Nation’s Restaurant News’ annual Top 200 census, Pei Wei ranked No. 111 in U.S. systemwide sales, posting an estimated $365 million for the fiscal year ended December 2016, up from $344 million in the preceding year.
Contact Ron Ruggless at [email protected]
Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless