Who invented pollo loco

Your browser doesn't support HTML5 video. Here is a link to the video instead. It all began in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico in with a young enterprising man with a dream and a love for fire-grilled chicken. Pancho Ochoa sold everything and opened the first El Pollo Loco in the shell of his former shoe store. Using a cherished family recipe handed down through generations, Pancho Ochoa began selling his chicken to the local community.

Alvarado Street, Los Angeles, The first El Pollo Loco opened in L. Since then, El Pollo Loco has grown to nearly restaurants in 6 states. The chicken recipe is a well-kept secret But it's been back-engineered by internet scientists, who say the secret ingredient that makes it taste so good is saffron.

Yes, really. Cooks are actually not called cooks, they're called "Grill Masters", and there are three levels of mastery, including "Elite Grill Master" Which we're guessing is the best one The bad boy was 3,ft long and weighed 2 tons. No word on how many people it took to eat, how long it took to eat, or how many people broke up over accidental Dutch ovens afterwards. Dow Futures 35, Nasdaq Futures 16, Russell Futures 2, Crude Oil Gold 1, Silver Vix CMC Crypto 1, FTSE 7, Nikkei 29, Read full article.

April 17, , PM. Story continues. Recommended Stories. Motley Fool. Simply Wall St. Zacks Small Cap Research. American City Business Journals. But then, the company opened another location just over two miles away in The couple claimed that they should have been given the rights to expand in their own city, considering there weren't any other franchisees nearby.

This new location, they thought, would reduce their revenue and cap the success of the business they had worked so hard to build. The lawsuit worked. Hopefully, the company learned to respect its franchisees and their businesses so nothing like this happens again. At some fast food places, you can tell that just about all the food is packed with preservatives, and you know the meat was probably frozen at some point.

That kind of food is becoming less appealing to many Americans as they put a greater emphasis on their health and other, healthier convenience foods become available. This is where El Pollo Loco is winning because the chain is focused on fresh ingredients. This wasn't part of a trend, either: El Pollo Loco was definitely ahead of the curve on this one and was one of the companies that was selling "healthy" food before it was as popular as it is now.

Most notably, the chicken here is never frozen since that can make a significant difference when it comes to flavor. But it's not just the meat. Consumers also enjoy fresh salsa that's actually made from scratch, just as it should be. You'll even get fresh-sliced avocados, not the green mush you'll find at most fast casual spots.

These little details are what make El Pollo Loco one of the best in its class. Before the crisis, fast food spots were struggling, and many predicted a coming crisis for the industry. While many of the issues that have led to this crisis are still unresolved, fast food joints now have a marked advantage over other types of restaurants: They have drive-thru windows, which many companies are now deeming essential to the continuation of their businesses.

For smaller local businesses, this often requires complete shake-ups in the organization of the restaurant as a whole. But not in the fast food realm. Since fast food restaurants haven't had to make as many adjustments to keep functioning as other restaurants, many of them have fared relatively well during the pandemic thus far, and El Pollo Loco is no exception. Drive-thru orders now account for 70 percent of the chain's sales. Plus, since the restaurant has started offering free delivery, El Pollo Loco has also experienced record delivery sales.

Combine this with the increase in interest in the loyalty program which earns participants access to meal options otherwise unavailable , and El Pollo Loco seems to be weathering the storm relatively well for now. If you work at El Pollo Loco, there are some skills that you just have to learn. Cooking the chicken correctly is probably the most important.

Of course, when a staff member joins the team, they have to learn the basics. But El Pollo Loco takes its grilling seriously, so it encourages staff members to really learn the intricacies of the grilling process.

One event that helps the company do just this is the Annual Grill Master Challenge. This challenge is a celebration of the grilling skills that allowed El Pollo Loco to become what it is today.

Many of the participants in the Grill Master Challenge have been at the company for years, so they have the expertise to create a fantastic product. During the event, several of the top grill masters at the chain get a chance to come together and go head-to-head in this grilling competition until the last one is standing.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the chain has held the competition for the past few years, but who knows? It might come back in the future.