West Covina is a suburban city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located 19 miles (31 km) east of Downtown Los Angeles in the eastern San Gabriel Valley, it is part of Greater Los Angeles. The population for the city was 106,098 at the 2010 census.
Pioneer Chicken is an American fried chicken restaurant chain which was founded in Echo Park, Los Angeles in 1961 by H. R. Kaufman. When Kaufman sold the chain in 1987, there were 270 restaurants operated by 220 franchisees.
The cuisine of California reflects the diverse culture of California and is influenced largely by Hispanic American roots, alongside East Asian and Oceanian influences, and Western European influences, as well as the food trends and traditions of larger American cuisine.
The San Gabriel Valley, often referred to by its initials as SGV, is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying immediately to the east of the eastern limits of the city of Los Angeles and occupying the vast majority of the southeastern part of Los Angeles County. Surrounding landforms and other features include the following:
Sam Woo Restaurant (三和) is a restaurant chain that serves Hong Kong-style cuisine. It has many locations in predominantly overseas Chinese communities of Southern California, in Las Vegas, and in the suburbs of Toronto. "Sam Woo" is a romanization of the Cantonese pronunciation for "triple harmonies," in reference to feng shui principles, including the synthesis of heaven, earth, and humanity. The complete Chinese name (三和燒臘麵家) would translate literally into English as "Three Harmonies Roast Meats and Noodle House."
Hong Kong Supermarket is an Asian American supermarket chain started in the San Gabriel Valley region of Southern California. It operates mainly in the newer suburban overseas Chinese communities, particularly in the Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and New York City areas. Hong Kong Supermarket specializes mainly in imported Asian groceries. Many items are from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Panda Express is an American fast food restaurant chain that specializes in American Chinese cuisine. With over 2,200 locations, it is the largest Asian-segment restaurant chain in the United States, where it was founded, and is mainly located in North America and Asia. Panda Express restaurants were traditionally located in shopping mall food courts, but the chain now operates units in many other environments and formats, including stand-alone restaurants, as well as universities, casinos, airports, military bases, amusement parks and other venues.
A Little Manila, also known as a Manilatown or Filipinotown, is a community with a large Filipino immigrant and descendant population. Little Manilas are enclaves of Overseas Filipinos consisting of people of Filipino origin living outside of the Philippines.
Randy's Donuts is a bakery and a landmark building in Inglewood, California which is near Los Angeles International Airport. It is built in a style that dates to a period in the early 20th century that saw a proliferation of programmatic architecture throughout Southern California. This style had its heyday from the mid-1920s to the mid-1930s. By the 1950s however, the trend of designing structures in the shape of the product sold there had changed to focus on signs rather than architecture itself. Randy's is represented by a giant doughnut on the roof of an otherwise ordinary drive-in that is a dedicated doughnut bakery. The building was designed by Henry J. Goodwin.
Canter's Deli is a Jewish-style delicatessen, opened in 1931 in Boyle Heights, and later moved to the Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California, near the border of West Hollywood, where it is now. It has been frequented by many notable movie stars and celebrities.
The Asian-American influx to the San Gabriel Valley grew rapidly when Chinese began settling in Monterey Park, California, in the western San Gabriel Valley in the 1970s. Just east of Los Angeles, the region has achieved international prominence as a hub of overseas Chinese, or hua qiao. Although Chinese immigrants were a noteworthy presence in the establishment of Southern California from the 19th century, significant Chinese migration to suburban San Gabriel Valley coincided with a trend of white out-migration from the 1970s onward. This opened an opportunity for middle-class Asian Americans to begin settling in the San Gabriel Valley.
Zankou Chicken is a small, family-owned chain of Armenian and Mediterranean fast casual restaurants located in the Los Angeles area. The restaurants are especially known for their spit-roasted chicken, shawarma, falafel, tahini, and a "secret" garlic sauce.
Max's Restaurant, sometimes known as Max's of Manila or simply Max's, is a Philippine-based multinational restaurant chain which serves fried chicken and other Filipino dishes. It is owned and operated by the Max's Group.
Plaza West Covina is a large regional shopping mall in West Covina, California, owned by the Starwood Capital Group. Its anchor stores are Macy's, JCPenney, XXI Forever, Nordstrom Rack, Best Buy, and Gold's Gym with one vacant space last occupied by Sears. Westfield America, Inc., a precursor to Westfield Group, acquired the shopping center in 1998 and renamed it "Westfield Shoppingtown West Covina", dropping the "Shoppingtown" name in June 2005. In October 2013, the Westfield Group sold the mall to Starwood Capital Group and the mall is now managed by Pacific Retail Capital Partners.
L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, known also as L&L Drive-Inn or colloquially as L&L, is a Hawaiʻi-themed franchise restaurant chain based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, centered on the plate lunch.
Red Mango FC, LLC is an American frozen yogurt and smoothie brand known for its all-natural frozen yogurt, fresh fruit smoothies, yogurt parfaits, and fresh juices. There are now more than 50 locations in over 15 states in the United States and Puerto Rico, and one each in El Salvador and Qatar. In 2011, Red Mango was named the No. 1 Zagat Rated chain in America for smoothies and frozen yogurt.
Seafood City is a Filipino supermarket chain founded in National City, California as Manila Seafood and headquartered in Pomona, California, with American locations in California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, and Washington and Canadian locations in Ontario, Alberta, and Manitoba.
Panda Restaurant Group, Inc., parent company of Panda Inn, Panda Express and Hibachi-San, was founded by Andrew and Peggy Tsiang Cherng and Andrew's father, Master Chef Ming-Tsai Cherng, the family originating in the Yangzhou region of China's Jiangsu province. They started their first Panda Inn restaurant in 1973 in Pasadena, California. Ten years later a developer of the Glendale Galleria, who was a patron of Panda Inn, asked Andrew to start a fast-service version of his restaurant in the new mall. In 1985 the store went from five locations to nine in just one year.
Island Pacific Supermarket, also known as Island Pacific Seafood Market, is a Filipino-American supermarket chain that operates 17 stores in California and Nevada. Headquartered in Walnut, California, the chain sells fresh seafood, meat, and produce, specializing in Filipino cuisine, though it also sells American staple foods.
La Salsa is a chain of fast-casual Tex Mex restaurants founded in Los Angeles, California in 1979, headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona and is owned by Canadian franchisor MTY Food Group. The chain emphasizes fresh ingredients, and each restaurant features a self-serve salsa bar.
