The chain was founded in 1993 by
Paul Fleming and
Philip Chiang, son of restaurateur
Cecilia Chiang. The first
restaurant was opened at the
Scottsdale Fashion Square in
Scottsdale, Arizona. The company also developed its
Pei Wei Asian Diner concept and operated five Pei Wei locations by the same date. On March 17, 2005, the company adjusted its accounting for leases in order to conform with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Accordingly, management and the audit committee determined that the company’s previously issued consolidated financial statements, including those in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2003, and those in the company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the first three fiscal quarters of 2004, should no longer be relied upon.
2010s In 2010, P.F. Chang’s Home Menu was introduced in supermarkets. The brand represents a group of frozen appetizers and meals that were sold under license by
Unilever. In 2012, Chang’s accepted an offer from private investment firm,
Centerbridge Partners in a deal valued at $1.1 billion.
ConAgra Foods, Inc. acquired the P.F. Chang's Home Menu license from Unilever in August 2012. In mid-2014, P.F. Chang’s confirmed that a breach had occurred targeting credit and debit cards used at their restaurants. The breach was initially identified by
Brian Krebs, a cybersecurity journalist. In 2015, P.F. Chang’s filed for bankruptcy for its Canadian division. In 2017,
Pei Wei was officially split from P.F. Chang's as a separate business. In December 2017, P.F. Chang’s announced that they would open a location in
Shanghai during the first part of 2018, P.F. Chang’s first location in China. The Shanghai location is marketed to local Chinese customers as American food, and has 10 menu items unique to the company's China operations. Additionally, as of 2018 P.F. Chang's operates a restaurant in South Korea. In January 2019, Chang’s announced it was in talks to be sold to TriArtisan Capital Partners and
Paulson & Co. for approximately $700 million from its previous owner, Centerbridge Partners.
2020s In January 2020, Chang’s announced its first P.F. Chang’s To Go take-out only location would be in Chicago, Illinois. In mid-2020, P.F. Chang’s obtained more than $5 million in small-business loans as part of the
Paycheck Protection Program (coronavirus relief). The first P. F. Chang's outlet in India was opened on January 14, 2024 in
Mumbai. ==Menu==