El Pollo Loco is a restaurant chain in the United States that serves Mexican-style grilled chicken along with other Mexican inspired food items. The Spanish translation for the restaurant’s name is “The Crazy Chicken.” The store is known for its signature citrus-marinated, fire-grilled chicken. The staff takes extra care in preparing this chicken. First, they marinate it with a special combination of herbs, spices, fruit juices, and garlic. Then they fire-grill it to perfection, after which, it is hand-cut and served to customers, usually as family or individual meals, or in burritos, salads, soups, tacos and quesadillas.

The same care and preparation goes into the handmade guacamole, salsas, sauces, and dressings. The restaurant serves healthy, freshly prepared food straight from open-flame grills. Aside from the delicious food, the chain provides outstanding customer service. The staff is tasked with making every customer experience count. The establishment is also dedicated to its communities. The store is dedicated to serving delicious food to customers while providing them with a satisfying dining experience. The store has a casual, relaxed atmosphere where customers can relax and enjoy their meals.

History

In 1975, Juan Francisco Ochoa opened the restaurant in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico. The restaurant expanded throughout the northern region of Mexico by 1979. The first American El Pollo Loco store opened in 1980 on Alvarado Street in Los Angeles, California. The store soon became a local favorite. Between the fresh and delicious food and the welcoming atmosphere, the word spread across the area and soon the store expanded to other locations throughout California. The American restaurants were acquired by Denny’s in 1983. The Ochoa family continued to operate the restaurants in Mexico.

The establishment opened its 200^th store in 1991. The restaurant expanded its menu featuring six new burritos in October 1993. Self-serve salsa bars were added to the restaurants in 1994. In February 1996, the chain introduced the Pollo Bowl®. The restaurant also introduced two new salsas, Avocado and Pico de Gallo. The restaurant was acquired by American Securities Capital Partners in 1999. American Securities Capital Partners then sold the restaurant to Trimaran Capital Partners in 2005. The establishment became a publicly traded company in July 2014. The restaurant celebrated its 25^th anniversary and introduced the Loco-Value menu.

El Pollo Loco has expanded in the United States over the years. There are over 400 locations in five states. These states are Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, and Utah. For a short period of time, the chain had locations in Georgia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia, Oregon, Illinois, and Connecticut. However, these locations closed between 2011 and 2012.  In January 2012, the chain launched an extensive remodel program that reflected the brand’s heritage and implemented updates to the dining room and the building’s exterior.  The store also started a series of popular limited time offerings on its menu.

The restaurant was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for building the world’s largest burrito in Anaheim, California on July 31, 1995. In January 2007, the restaurant appeared on NBC’s The Apprentice: Los Angeles, where contestants competed with each other by creating and selling versions of the restaurant’s “Pollo Loco Bowl®”. The store won first place in QSR Magazine’s 2008 Applied Technology Awards in the “Enduring Technology” category for establishing its customer feedback program. The chain was also recognized by the World Franchising Network as a top franchise for Hispanics in 2010.

Review

In addition to the flame-grilled citrus-marinated chicken, the menu offers a wide variety of Mexican cuisine. The menu items include starters, bowls and salads, family chicken meals, individual chicken meals, favorites, sides, an “under 500 calories” menu, snack menu, kid’s combos, desserts, and drinks. The starters are between $3 and $5. The starters consist of the Chicken Tortilla Soup and the Chips and Guacamole. The snack menu includes the Crunchy Chicken Taco, Loco Street Taco, Chicken Taco Al Carbon, BRC Burrito, and the Chicken Tortilla Roll. Items on the snack menu are priced between $6 and $8.

The family meals include eight, ten, twelve, and sixteen piece meals. The family meals range from $20 to $30 according to the size ordered. The individual meals consist of the two and three piece combos, half chicken combo, fire-grilled skinless breast meal, fire-grilled chicken breast, fire-grilled chicken thigh, and the fire-grilled chicken leg. The individual meals are between $6 and $9. The sides are between $2 and $4. Sides include rice, pinto beans, black beans, corn, broccoli, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and gravy, coleslaw, and loco side salad.

Salads are between $6 and $7. The salads include the Ultimate Double Tostada salad, Mexican Cobb salad, Tostada Salad, and the Classic salad. The bowls are between $6 and $8, and consist of the Ultimate Double Chicken Bowl, Grande Avocado Chicken Bowl, and the Pollo Bowl. The chicken burritos are between $6 and $7. The different types include the Avocado, Spicy Chipotle, Poblano Avocado, Ranchero, and Classic Chicken burritos. Churros are provided as dessert and are between $1 and $2. Items on the Kid’s menu are between $3 and $4, and include the Mini Pollo Bowl, BRC Burrito Kids, and the two-piece Chicken Legs.

The “under 500 calories” menu features a variety of regular menu items that are under 500 calories. Items under the “favorites” section of the menu are between $4 and $8. The “favorites” items consist of the Ultimate Double Chicken Bowl, Avocado Quesadilla, and Avocado Tacos. The chain’s hours of operation are generally from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., although some store hours vary according to location. Some locations are relatively clean while others could use some improvement. The service is decent. The chicken is a definite favorite. The burritos are highly recommended. Whether it be the family or individual meal, a burrito, or a salad, this store definitely has something for everyone.