New location of this national restaurant planned for Columbia’s Harbison area
A major national chain that is known for its Asian cuisine is planning a location in one of Columbia’s busiest shopping districts.
Panda Express, which has thousands of restaurants nationwide, is planning a location at 225 and 227 Harbison Boulevard, according to a draft agenda for the Jan. 15 meeting of the city of Columbia’s planning commission. That meeting will be at 4 p.m. on Jan. 15 at Columbia City Hall.
The proposed location for the Panda Express would be just west of the Harbison Center shopping center that is home to a Trader Joe’s grocery store, 2nd & Charles bookstore, First Watch brunch spot and other businesses. The restaurant would be roughly a mile west of Interstate 26.
Panda Express was founded in 1983, per its website. It has more than 2,600 stores and 47,000 employees. The restaurant carries a number of well-known Chinese and Asian dishes, perhaps most notably the orange chicken, which it touts as its signature offering.
There are several Panda Express locations currently in the Midlands, including one that opened in Lexington’s Red Bank area at the Platt Springs Crossing development in 2025.
The Harbison district northwest of downtown Columbia continues to be one of the Midlands busiest retail areas, lined with shops, big box stores, restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, the Columbiana Centre mall and more. About 20,000 cars per day travel down the stretch of Harbison Boulevard where the Panda Express is planned, per state Department of Transportation statistics.
