In the past, most of the Chinese immigrants who came here had family members in the United States. The only reason that they came here was for the money. They gathered in California and formed the first Chinatown there. Nowadays, younger people come to US for education. People prefer to settle down in big cities such as New York. 

Yue came to Lewisburg in 2015. His initial purpose was to study, but he quit school after several months. He noticed that there was nowhere to buy authentic Chinese food in Lewisburg, so he wanted to open a Chinese convenience store and sell takeouts. Yue mentioned that the Chinese population grew significantly these past couple years. 

The logo of Pandaly was designed by a friend of Yue’s. It receives many compliments from the local people. The restaurant name “Pandaly” come from the abbreviation of Yue’s and his wife’s name. It is very meaningful and loving.

Before opening “Pandaly”, Yue did some preparations. He researched on the average food price in Lewisburg and estimated how much people were willing to pay for his takeouts. He set the price relatively low to attract more students.




One challenge of opening a Chinese restaurant in Lewisburg is that, due to the small population, the purchase cost is relatively high and the profit is small. In order to attract more customers, Yue provided Chinese snacks for free and encouraged people to take some home. They discovered the new tastes and selected their favorite ones. 

Another challenge Yue faces is that other Chinese restaurants in Lewisburg are not very friendly towards him. They wrote bad comments on his page, but they had never tried his food yet. The hostility comes from the competition Pandaly creates. Because of the location, Bucknell students prefer to go there instead of Peking Garden.

Yue noticed that the Americans are more “persistent” than Chinese. They prefer to choose the same snack/drink after they had chosen their favorite ones. Therefore, letting them discover the new food is essential. Younger people prefer meals, while older people prefer the snacks and drinks in the store. 

Yue updates the meal choices on the menu regularly to find out which dishes are the most popular ones. He wants to open a Chinese restaurant, not just a convenience store selling Chinese takeouts. He is collecting the ideas of dishes to put on the menu for a restaurant. 



Yue feels that Lewisburg is a very friendly town. When he first opened Pandaly, the Americans would come in and say hello. They would buy some novel foods they have never tried before, and very open to new things. Many Americans can even speak Chinese. Yue thinks that the welcomeness from the Americans does not exist everywhere. He visited other places in Pennsylvania but did not feel the same. The fact that Lewisburg is a college town definitely contributes to its friendly atmosphere. Yue enjoys the community very much, and he is not planning on moving to bigger cities.

The main purpose of opening Pandaly is that Yue wants to know more Chinese people in the community, and that he wants the Americans to taste the real Chinese food. He does not create his menu to cater the Americans, but insist on cooking authentic Chinese dishes. Yue feels the warmth of the community of Lewisburg.

This is the link to Pandaly's website: https://www.pandalyllc.com/. The menu changes daily and there are always new dishes worthy to try. Take a look!