For those who may not be familiar with it, Panda Express is a chain of restaurants serving Chinese fast food; I’m not sure how widespread they are, but they’re ubiquitous in the Los Angeles area - typically as free-standing restaurants, in strip malls, or in mall food courts. A pre-packaged fortune cookie is provided with the purchase of a meal (at all locations, I’d thought - see below).
Last Saturday I patronized a Panda Express which happens to be inside a Vons grocery store. They’re tied in with the store’s electronic payment system, rather than having their own - you get a receipt from “Vons” rather than “Panda Express.”
Finally to the point of the question, though: No fortune cookies. More curious than annoyed, I asked about this. I was told, “We’re inside a retail store, so we can’t give them out.”
Well, whatever - hardly a big deal, so I paid up and left to eat lunch.
I’m still curious, though. The premise is undoubtedly true - that Panda is inside a retail store. However, I am unable to conjure sensible steps from there to the conclusion - that they can sell me a meal but cannot include with it a prepackaged fortune cookie.
Can anybody who knows the industry better than I fill in the blank?