El Pollo Loco Cooks Up Sizzling Recipe For National Expansion

Flame-Grilled Chicken Leader Expects to Boost 315-Unit Chain With More Than 130 New Locations

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA (Wednesday, April 14, 2004) - In its first major expansion East of the Mississippi River , El Pollo Loco, the nation’s leading quick-service restaurant chain specializing in citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken, is breaking out of its West Coast coop with an aggressive search for experienced restaurateurs who are “crazy” about multi-unit franchise ownership.
Currently with 315 locations in California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas, 137 of which are company-operated, El Pollo Loco executives recently announced plans to drive future national company growth through franchising – outside of its core West Coast markets. Initial expansion plans are expected to add 130+ franchise-operated locations in the Southwest, Midwest and Eastern United States by 2009.

“El Pollo Loco (the ‘Crazy Chicken’ in Spanish) has thrived on the West Coast for more than 20 years,” said Stephen Carley, El Pollo Loco’s president and CEO, whose forward-thinking philosophies have led El Pollo Loco into a new era of strategic expansion. “Logically, it makes sense to target markets outside of our traditional territories whose demographics match the areas where El Pollo Loco has had strong consumer followings. As consumer demand for fresh, bold and flavorful foods continues to grow, El Pollo Loco is a golden opportunity for entrepreneurs seeking an established quick-service brand.”

Founded in 1975 by “Pancho” Ochoa in Mexico , El Pollo Loco has been serving its authentic menu in the United States for more than 20 years, including its famous citrus-marinated flame-grilled chicken with fresh salsas, steaming tortillas, and an assortment of sides. Through the years, El Pollo Loco has kept its menu fresh with a broad array of entrees that include its signature Pollo Bowl (R), Pollo Salads, specialty burritos and quesadillas.

Already, the company’s franchise expansion campaign has generated favorable results. While El Pollo Loco recently signed a multi-unit development agreement in Chicago , company executives continue to draw interest from additional entrepreneurs interested in opening El Pollo Loco locations in major markets such as Denver , Phoenix and Houston .

Dedicated Franchisee Support

El Pollo Loco equips its franchisees with a core menu, recipes, site-selection assistance and ongoing management and crew training programs. In addition, El Pollo Loco assigns each franchisee a corporate consultant to assist with implementation of new products, equipment and technologies.

“El Pollo Loco has assembled a top-tier team of experts in operations, training, marketing and development. From the day a franchisee begins working with us, we'll be there to support his or her needs and growth,” Carley said. “We realize that our company can only be successful if our franchisees are successful, and vice versa.”

Raising the bar

Although El Pollo Loco’s original menu has expanded to meet modern-day consumer tastes, executives maintain that its core product – authentic citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken cooked slowly over an open flame – never has, and never will, change.

In fact, to ensure product consistency among all locations, for the past 12 years, the company has held its popular “Perfect Pollo Challenge” – a competitive system-wide contest to identify the top cook in the chain. A key objective is to perfect cooking techniques among El Pollo Loco’s chefs.

Although El Pollo Loco is considered a quick-service concept, it is best known for food quality that exceeds traditional fast-food standards. For example, El Pollo Loco’s chicken is fresh, marinated and served to the customer hot off the grill. The chain also features a salsa garden, where customers can customize their meals with four different flavors of salsa that are prepared fresh daily.

Aesthetically, El Pollo Loco offers customers a casual, relaxed atmosphere. Locations offer flexible seating, rather than the fixed plastic seating commonly found in fast food chains, and the restaurant’s decor pays tribute to the chain’s Mexican heritage, while providing a comfortable environment designed to make customers feel at home. For convenience, locations also offer a self-service beverage bar for dine-in customers and many restaurants offer drive-thru service for diners on-the-go.

“The El Pollo Loco concept occupies a sweet spot between the quick-service and fast-casual dining segments,” Carley said. “Our cooks spend six months training to prepare our flame-grilled chicken. At the same time, El Pollo Loco’s drive-thru windows are equipped to deliver our chicken to customers at a rate of 100 cars per hour. While many quick-service chains force customers to sacrifice quality for convenience, El Pollo Loco’s ability to focus on both has fueled five consecutive years of same store sales growth.”

El Pollo Loco opened 13 new restaurants during 2003 and ended the year with record system wide sales of nearly $396 million. The chain expects to open more than 20 stores in 2004, more than half of which will be franchise-owned and by 2008, company executives project to open up to 40 franchised locations annually.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco currently operates 315 restaurants, located principally in California , with additional restaurants in Arizona , Nevada and Texas , comprised of 137 company-owned restaurants and 178 franchised restaurants. Headquartered in Irvine , California , El Pollo Loco, Inc. is a privately held company owned by affiliates of New York-based equity investment firm American Securities Capital Partners, L.P. and company management. The chain offers a wide variety of contemporary Mexican-influenced entrees (Pollo BowlsÒ, Pollo Salads, specialty chicken burritos and more) in addition to individual and family meal quantities of its famous citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken. The chicken is served with steaming tortillas, freshly prepared salsas and a wide assortment of side dishes.

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