El Pollo Loco Expands Presence in Nevada with New Carson City Location Flame-Grilled Chicken Leader Opens 17th Nevada Restaurant

By: El Pollo Loco | 2 Shares 185 Reads

April 21, 2008 // Franchising.com // COSTA MESA, CA – Building on the momentum ignited by its existing Nevada restaurants, El Pollo Loco will open its 17th restaurant in the Silver State on Monday, April 21, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. in Carson City, the state's capital. The beautiful new restaurant is located at 1923 Highway 50 East, close to the off ramp of the 395 Freeway and Highway 50.

With more than 390 fast casual restaurants, El Pollo Loco is famous for its signature fresh, natural, citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken served with warm tortillas, assortment of delicious sides and fresh salsas, and wide variety of fresh, contemporary Mexican-inspired entrees.

The new Carson City El Pollo Loco is 3,200 square feet and offers ample parking and bright, comfortable seating for 85 guests. It employs approximately 50 new hires from the local community and is open seven days a week, from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The new location offers drive-thru service, in addition to dine-in and take-out service. Catering for special events and celebrations is also available.

The newest Nevada restaurant highlights El Pollo Loco's fresh, citrus-marinated chicken as it cooks on the grill and features an open dining area with flexible seating that encourages customers to relax and enjoy the unique El Pollo Loco dining experience. A focal point of the dining room is a self serve salsa bar, featuring a variety of salsas that guests can use to customize their menu selections. All of the salsas are prepared fresh every day.

The new Carson City location is the fourth El Pollo Loco restaurant for franchise owner, Mr. Sattar, president of Superior Food Services, Inc., who has been with the El Pollo Loco brand since 1994. In addition to the new Carson City location, Sattar and his company operate two restaurants in Sacramento, CA and one in Reno, NV.

To welcome the Carson City community, a special ribbon cutting event will be held with city officials, local dignitaries and members of the Carson City Area Chamber of Commerce on Monday, April 21st at 10:00 a.m. A wide variety of prizes, including bicycles, boom box, MP3 player and El Pollo Loco gift certificates, will be awarded to lucky winners on April 21st and 22nd.

"We are thrilled to expand our presence in Nevada and to bring our delicious citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken and fresh Mexican-inspired entrees to the people of Carson City," said Sattar. "No one else does what El Pollo Loco does with its fresh, natural, citrus-marinated chicken grilled over an open flame and we can't wait to serve the people of this fine community."

Founded in Guasave, Mexico in 1975, El Pollo Loco, pronounced "L Po-yo Lo-co" and Spanish for "The Crazy Chicken," opened its first U.S. restaurant in 1980 and is famous for the unique preparation of its award-winning "pollo"-- fresh chicken marinated in a special recipe of herbs, spices and citrus juices passed down from the founding family. The marinated chicken is then flame-grilled, hand cut and served hot off the grill with warm tortillas, freshly prepared salsas, and a wide assortment of side dishes. Rounding out the menu are fresh flavorful entrées inspired by the kitchens of Mexico, including signature, grilled burritos, Pollo Bowl® entrees, Pollo Salads, Tacos al Carbon, quesadillas, and more.

About El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco currently operates 396 restaurants (233 franchised locations and 163 company-owned restaurants) located in Nevada, California, Arizona, Texas, Colorado, Illinois, Georgia, Connecticut and Massachusetts. Headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, El Pollo Loco, Inc. is a privately held company owned by Trimaran Pollo Partners, LLC and management. The principal investors in Trimaran Pollo Partners are funds affiliated with Trimaran Capital, LLC and Freeman Spogli & Co. For more information about El Pollo Loco, visit the company's website at www.elpolloloco.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements, which are statements that do not relate solely to historical fact. They include, but are not limited to, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future results, performance, achievements or events. They may contain words such as "believe," "anticipate," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "project," "plan," "will," "should," "may," "could" or words or phrases of similar meaning. The statements reflect management's current expectations regarding future events. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, concerns about food-borne illnesses; negative publicity, whether or not valid; adverse public perception due to the occurrence of avian flu; increases in the cost of chicken; an ultimate adverse ruling in litigation involving El Pollo Loco-Mexico which could result in the imposition of significant monetary damages and loss of rights to the trademarks in Mexico; our dependence upon frequent deliveries of food and other supplies; our sensitivity to events and conditions in the greater Los Angeles area; our reliance in part on our franchisees; our vulnerability to changes in consumer preferences and economic conditions; our ability to compete successfully with other quick service and fast casual restaurants; and other risk factors listed from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements about the Company's past performance are not necessarily indicative of its future results. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as the result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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