El Pollo Loco
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| Type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Founded | Guasave, Sinaloa, 1966 |
| Headquarters | Costa Mesa, California |
| Key people | Juan Francisco Ochoa, Stephen Carley, CEO |
| Industry | Fast food |
| Products | Flame-grilled chicken and related Mexican food |
| Website | www.elpolloloco.com |
El Pollo Loco is a fast-food restaurant chain and Mexican grilled chicken franchise headquartered in Costa Mesa, California[1]. "El Pollo Loco" is Spanish for "The Crazy Chicken".
Juan Francisco Ochoa started the restaurant in Guasave, Mexico, in 1966. By 1979, the chain had expanded over northern Mexico. In 1980, the first U.S. restaurant opened in Los Angeles, California. In 1983, the American restaurants in the chain were acquired by Denny's, with an agreement where the Ochoa family could operate the restaurants in Mexico.
There are some holes in the history presented at the El Pollo Loco website, however. The USPTO reports that El Pollo Loco's trademark was assigned from an Humberto Galvez to the El Pollo Loco corporation in 1981. El Pollo Loco joined the former Trans World Corporation with the rest of Denny's in 1987, but was sold as the holding company got rid of all its operations other than Denny's.
Humberto Galvez later started the Pescado Mojado (rhyming Spanish for "The Wet Fish") chain of fish restaurants.
In the United States, the El Pollo Loco chain primarily operates in the Southwest and California, with three locations in the Chicago area, eight in metro Atlanta, and one in Connecticut at the Foxwoods Casino in Ledyard. On February 2, 2009, El Pollo Loco also announced the opening of its first restaurant in New Jersey. At least 15 El Pollo Loco restaurants are planned for northern and central New Jersey, and Long Island, New York.[2] El Pollo Loco has also opened new restaurants in St. Louis, Missouri, Greenville, South Carolina and Beaverton, Oregon. At least one location in the north Atlanta suburbs has changed its branding to English ("The Crazy Chicken").[3]
Not all El Pollo locations have been successful. A restaurant was opened in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, but it closed after just 11 months because it did not generate enough business. It currently has no plans to re-open at that location.[4] Another location in Vancouver, Washington opened in 2008, but closed a year later.
Their main dish is pollo asado, a grilled marinated chicken. Initially, their competition was with KFC for plates of chicken, but today, they have expanded into burritos and salads, and serve items that compete with Taco Bell, Del Taco and other Mexican style restaurants. Their primary competition appears to come from smaller mom-and-pop restaurants with copycat names.[citation needed]
The chain's most recent marketing efforts, featuring a Mexican playing a character named El Caliente (Spanish for 'The Hot One') (played by Matt Cedeño), have drawn fire from Chicano advocacy groups who claim that the ads depict a stereotypical view of Latinos. Generally, however, El Caliente is seen as less offensive than previous Latino mascots, such as the Frito Bandito.
In Mexico, the originating chain still operates under the same name and logo in most of northern Mexico, particularly in cities such as Monterrey or Culiacán. The chain enjoys high commercialization on take out and fast food selling primarily grilled chicken. The chain marketing efforts are primarily on radio.
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[edit] Advertising Campaigns
In 2009, El Pollo Loco launched a campaign taking on its main competitor, Kentucky Fried Chicken. Parts of the campaign, which has been launched in different stages, have included criticizing KFC's ingredients and challenging the company to a taste test.[5]
[edit] Pop Culture
In Rush Hour 3, Carter describes how Lee's girlfriend is after she was shot in the neck accidentally and mentions she works at El Pollo Loco.
In the Married With Children episode "Torch Song Duet", the radio host (played by Bo Jackson) states that one of the prizes for the contest is a 12 piece El Pollo Loco chicken dinner.
In the South Park episode "W.T.F." Kenny McCormick's wrestling character is called "El Pollo Loco".
On Flipping Out, Jeff and his team are often seen eating lunch from El Pollo Loco.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.elpolloloco.com/company/contactus.html
- ^ "Press Release: El Pollo Loco Debuts in New Jersey with North Bergen Location February 2009". El Pollo Loco. 2009. http://www.elpolloloco.com/company/press_text.asp?news_id=216. Retrieved 2009-02-02.
- ^ http://www.atlantaonthecheap.com/2009/06/10/coupons-for-metro-atlanta-el-pollo-locos-soon-to-be-known-as-the-crazy-chicken/
- ^ "El Pollo Loco closes Tewksbury location [Lowell Sun]". businessweek.com. September 30, 2008. http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/news/article.asp?docKey=600-200809301241KRTRIB__BUSNEWS_59905-2RJM2II6VC697VA3IGBVHRF2AP¶ms=timestamp%7C%7C09/30/2008%2012:41%20PM%20ET%7C%7Cheadline%7C%7CEl%20Pollo%20Loco%20closes%20Tewksbury%20location%20%5BThe%20Sun%2C%20Lowell%2C%20Mass.%5D%7C%7CdocSource%7C%7CKnight%20Ridder/Tribune%7C%7Cprovider%7C%7CACQUIREMEDIA%7C%7Crealtedsyms%7C%7C%7CUS%3BWMT%7CUS%3BPNRA%7CUS%3BGOOG&symbol=WMT. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
- ^ Jennings, Lisa (June 14, 2009). "El Pollo Loco calls out KFC ingredients". NRN.com. http://www.nrn.com/breakingNews.aspx?id=368326.
[edit] External links
- El Pollo Loco website
- http://elpolloloco.com.mx/ (El Pollo Loco Mexico)
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