Monday, September 24, 2007
Restaurants The chicken wars commence
Posted by Cliff Bostock @cliffbostock on Mon, Sep 24, 2007 at 4:30 PM
The Associated Press reports that California-based El Pollo Loco has opened its first Atlanta-area restaurant in Hiram. The restaurant, whose name means "The Crazy Chicken," sells Mexican-style grilled chicken and offers itself as a healthy alternative to the fried birds at Popeye's and KFC. The company plans to open 50 restaurants in our area:
"We're giving the South, which loves its chicken, a healthy, wholesome alternative to fried chicken," said Steve Carley, CEO of Irvine, Calif.-based El Pollo Loco Inc. (pronounced El Po-yo Lo-co).The suburban Atlanta restaurant, which opened at the end of August, is the first Southern location for the chain, which is ranked 70th in the nation's list of top restaurant chains based on sales according to Restaurants & Institutions magazine.
Last month, the privately held company of 340 restaurants reported a net income of $1.59 million for the 26 weeks ended June 30, a 26.4 percent increase over the $1.26 million in net income it reported for the same period a year ago. The company was purchased in November 2005 by affiliates of the New York-based equity investment firm Trimaran Capital L.L.C. and company management.
El Pollo Loco is under contract with a company led by a former Church's Chicken executive to open 50 restaurants in the Atlanta area in the next six years. The chain also plans to open restaurants in the Orlando and Tampa, Fla., areas, in Charlotte, N.C., and in Norfolk, Va.
"We think the South is ready for El Pollo Loco," Carley said. "We have a high level of confidence this is going to be a big winner."
Read the whole story here.
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