El Pollo Loco will celebrate the grand opening of its 500th restaurant on Friday in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the company said in a Wednesday press release. This location is the chain’s third restaurant in the state.
The Mexican QSR plans to open 10 stores this year, a majority of which will be outside of California. The chain is trying to grow from a regional powerhouse to a national brand, and also has restaurants in Arizona, Louisiana, Nevada, Texas and Utah, according to the press release.
“Behind this milestone is one of the strongest development pipelines we’ve ever had,” said Tim Welsh, El Pollo Loco’s chief development officer.
El Pollo Loco also has restaurants under construction in Dallas; El Paso, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and the Greater Seattle area, Welsh said.
In addition to building new restaurants, the chain is remodeling existing restaurants using a two-tier approach. Franchisees can either do a cost-effective five-year refresh or a more comprehensive 10-year remodel, CEO Liz Williams said during an July earnings call.
The franchisor is working with operators to update half of its system within the next four years, she said. This year, it expects to complete between 55 to 65 restaurant renovations, 20 of which had been completed by the end of the second quarter. Finished remodels are already leading to early sales lifts, Williams said.
In May, the chain also celebrated its 50th anniversary with the debut of the Let’s Get Loco brand refresh, which emphasizes the chain’s fire grilled chicken, food quality and flavors.
