El Pollo Loco Gets $45M for Expansion

COSTA MESA, CA-A private-equity firm has invested $45 million in chicken-restaurant chain El Pollo Loco. The investment, from Los Angeles-based Freeman Spogli & Co. will go toward store expansion and “general corporate purposes,” says El Pollo Loco’s management in a statement.

The chain currently has 389 restaurants, mostly in California, as well as Arizona, Nevada, Texas, Colorado, Illinois, Georgia, Connecticut and Massachusetts. The company operates 159 units and the rest are franchised.

The company statement did not say how many locations it plans to open as a result of the Freeman investment. Earlier this month El Pollo Loco opened its fifth Georgia location, and management says it plans to open 50 units in the Atlanta area alone.