Pei Wei Asian Kitchen is a fast-casual pan-Asian chain that started life inside a bigger company and has since changed hands more than once. It was created in 2000 as a counter-service offshoot of the sit-down chain P.F. Chang's China Bistro, spun off on its own in 2017, and in June 2019 sold to PWD Acquisition LLC, the investment vehicle of restaurateur Lorne A. Goldberg.[1][2] Because Pei Wei is privately held, the political record examined here belongs to its current owner, not to P.F. Chang's, which parted ways with the brand years ago and carries its own separate history.
- Pei Wei's Lorne Goldberg calls himself the second-largest Chinese-restaurant owner after Panda Express.
- Goldberg is also a former pro tennis player who was ranked on the ATP Tour.
- Pei Wei began as a fast-casual spin-off of P.F. Chang's back in 2000.
- The chain peaked near 213 locations in 2016 before shrinking to about 119.
- Celebrity chef Jet Tila became a Pei Wei partner in 2022, reshaping its menu.
Quick Take
Pei Wei is a privately held chain, and that privacy is the story. It runs no corporate political action committee, no federal lobbying registration turned up under the names searched, and as a privately held company it is not an SEC reporting company, so there is almost no institutional political money to trace. No significant federal contributions surfaced in owner Lorne Goldberg's name either. For a national brand, the federal political trail is close to blank.
Born Inside P.F. Chang's, Then Sold Off
P.F. Chang's launched Pei Wei in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2000 as a faster, cheaper counterpart to its full-service restaurants.[3] The two brands were bought together by private-equity firm Centerbridge Partners for $1.1 billion in 2012, separated into standalone companies in 2017, and then sold off individually: P.F. Chang's went to TriArtisan Capital Advisors and Paulson & Co in early 2019, and Pei Wei went to Goldberg's PWD Acquisition that June.[2] The chain had peaked at about 213 locations in 2016 and was already shrinking by the time of the sale, when it ran roughly 193 restaurants across 19 states and South Korea;[2][6] by early 2022 it reported 119 U.S. locations in 17 states, plus 13 licensed units in airports and on college campuses.[8] Its headquarters sits in Irving, Texas.[3]
A Private Chain With a Faint Political Trail
Pei Wei's private ownership shapes what can and cannot be documented about its politics. It is privately held and is not an SEC reporting company, and the public campaign-finance record shows no corporate political action committee and no federal lobbying registration under the names searched, including Pei Wei, PWD Acquisition, and West Coast Capital, the investment firm of owner Lorne Goldberg.[4] A search of the available individual-donor record for Goldberg surfaced no significant federal campaign contributions in his name. On the evidence gathered here, Pei Wei leaves an unusually faint federal political trail for a national chain.
The Man Who Owns It
Pei Wei is one of four Asian restaurant brands controlled by Lorne A. Goldberg through his investment firm, West Coast Capital, based in Boca Raton, Florida; the others are Pick Up Stix, Leeann Chin and Mandarin Express.[5] A former professional tennis player from Montreal who was ranked on the ATP Tour, Goldberg earned a finance degree from Temple University in 1991 and founded West Coast Capital in 1995.[5] Speaking to Temple business students in October 2025, he described the scale of his restaurant holdings in his own words: "After Panda Express, I'm the second largest owner of Chinese food restaurants in North America."[5] His personal political views are not established in the public record reviewed here, and are kept separate from the company's own political activity.
A Menu Remade Under New Ownership
After buying Pei Wei in 2019, Goldberg restructured the chain around digital ordering and a reworked menu. In 2022 he brought in Food Network chef Jet Tila as a minority partner to push the food beyond its Chinese base and add more Southeast Asian, Korean, and Thai dishes.[7] After bottoming out during the pandemic, the chain has been opening restaurants again, with new restaurants opening into 2026, including a February 2026 location in Orlando's Lake Nona.[9]
Where to Find Them
Pei Wei operates mostly company-owned fast-casual restaurants, with licensed units in airports, on college campuses, and in casinos, and dishes cooked to order in an open kitchen using wok firing. Its home online is peiwei.com.
Footnotes
[1] Nation's Restaurant News, "Pei Wei Asian Kitchen acquired by PWD Acquisition," June 5, 2019. https://www.nrn.com/fast-casual/pei-wei-asian-kitchen-acquired-by-pwd-acquisition
[2] Restaurant Dive, "Pei Wei acquired by private equity firm," June 5, 2019. https://www.restaurantdive.com/news/pei-wei-acquired-by-private-equity-firm/556250/
[3] Wikipedia, "Pei Wei Asian Diner," accessed August 15, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pei_Wei_Asian_Diner
[4] Federal Election Commission and OpenSecrets, committee, organization, and individual-contributor searches for Pei Wei, West Coast Capital, and Lorne Goldberg, accessed August 15, 2026. https://www.fec.gov/data/ and https://www.opensecrets.org/
[5] Karen Naylor, "Tennis pro-turned-Fox alum has grand slam in restaurant industry," Discover Fox (Temple University Fox School of Business), October 16, 2025. https://www3.fox.temple.edu/discover/2025/10/16/tennis-pro-turned-fox-alum-has-grand-slam-in-restaurant-industry/
[6] Jonathan Maze, Restaurant Business, "Pei Wei sold to Leeann Chin owner," June 5, 2019. https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/financing/pei-wei-sold-leeann-chin-owner
[7] Patricia Cobe, Restaurant Business, "With Chef Jet Tila in the driver's seat, menu evolution accelerates at Pei Wei," February 4, 2022. https://www.restaurantbusinessonline.com/food/chef-jet-tila-drivers-seat-menu-evolution-accelerates-pei-wei
[8] Pei Wei, "Pei Wei and Celebrity Chef Jet Tila Partner on Culinary Innovation and Menu Relaunch," PR Newswire, January 27, 2022. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pei-wei-and-celebrity-chef-jet-tila-partner-on-culinary-innovation-and-menu-relaunch-301469888.html
[9] Pei Wei, "Pei Wei Asian Kitchen Turns Up the Heat in Lake Nona," PR Newswire, February 19, 2026. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pei-wei-asian-kitchen-turns-up-the-heat-in-lake-nona-302692373.html
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