El Pollo Loco has plenty to crow about as the restaurant chain celebrates 30 years of flame-grilled perfection. For this milestone, you won’t find the corporate office holding obligatory award banquets or giving out traditional 30th anniversary gifts like pearls or diamonds. El Pollo Loco wants everyone to take part in its 30th Anniversary celebration and knows that the way to people’s hearts is through their stomachs!
Beginning September 1, 2010 and continuing through the end of the month, consumers can log onto www.elpolloloco.com and download daily coupons for offers on flame-grilled favorites such as chicken meals, the Original Pollo Bowl, Chicken Tostada Salad and more. And the anniversary celebration doesn’t stop there! National Chicken Day falls on Sept. 15 – right in the middle of this 30th Anniversary extravaganza – and guests who visit El Pollo Loco on that day with their corresponding September 15 coupon will receive a free piece of citrus-marinated, flame-grilled chicken (leg or thigh), warm tortillas and fresh salsa. No purchase is required, but guests must present the September 15 coupon they print from El Pollo Loco’s website.
The first U.S. El Pollo Loco opened in Los Angeles in 1980. Families formed lines around the block as the aroma of freshly marinated chicken cooking atop an open grill filled the air. People eagerly awaited their first bite of the taste sensation, which had just crossed the border from coastal Mexico, where outdoor grilling, ingredients fresh from the garden and generations of pride came together in delicious food celebrated by families and friends. As customers neared the entrance, they peered through the window and watched as El Pollo Loco’s grill masters tended to dozens of fresh chickens covering the grills. It was then that Americans’ love affair with El Pollo Loco began.
El Pollo Loco’s roots trace back to a roadside chicken stand 30 years ago in Guasave, Mexico. Now, El Pollo Loco is the nation’s flame-grilled chicken leader with more than 400 restaurants. Although many things have changed since El Pollo Loco opened its doors 30 years ago, the restaurant’s focus on freshness, fire-grilling, flavor and tradition certainly have not. Each restaurant across the country still prepares the famous chicken the same authentic way – marinated in a special blend of herbs, spices, citrus and garlic and then grilled to perfection over an open flame so that it is crisp and tender on the outside and juicy and flavorful on the inside.
Posted 9/14/10.
