El Pollo Loco navigates a tough consumer environment as Q3 traffic declines 7.6%El Pollo Loco navigates a tough consumer environment as Q3 traffic declines 7.6%

Joanna Fantozzi

Like many restaurant chains, El Pollo Loco had mixed results for the third quarter ended Sept. 25, as the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based quick-service chain reported a 2.7% increase in same-store sales, but also navigated a 7.6% dip in traffic.

According to El Pollo Loco CEO Liz Williams, the company has been trying to offset this trend of declining transactions by offering more value for the everyday customer, which includes a more rigorous limited-time-offer schedule at attractive price points.

“The [traffic decline] is definitely that value-oriented consumer more than ever telling us that they need more value,” Williams said. “We’ve been working over the last couple of weeks identifying what we can do to really bring that to bear.”

Williams said many of the promotions El Pollo Loco had been putting on its calendar were repeats of previous popular deals, like the promotions for the double tostada, as well as relaunches of popular menu items like the burritos in new flavors like Creamy Chipotle and Queso Blanco. However, Williams said, customers are responding to new deals, like the $5 Taco Tuesday promotion that ran recently.

“The guest feedback has been great, but what's more important is that this promotion creates a new trial allowing us to showcase to our guests that we're just really good food that's really good for you with a product that we're not always known for,” Williams said. “Not surprising, consumers are asking us to offer this promotion every day, which is something we will consider as we learn more.”

Related:El Pollo Loco is modernizing its restaurant design

Besides working on menu innovation as a strategy for promoting value, El Pollo Loco is also focused on moving forward with a new tech-forward store prototype, which was unveiled earlier this week. The new prototype is a smaller and simpler design, which will cost less to develop, and help the company recoup some development dollars.

El Pollo Loco is also on track to complete the rollout of kiosks, which is expected to be completed by Q1 of 2025.

For the third quarter ended Sept. 25, El Pollo Loco opened one net new restaurant bringing the total number of restaurants to 496, portfolio-wide. The company reported total revenues of $120.4 million, down slightly from $120.4 million in the same quarter the year prior. Net income for the third quarter of 2024 was $6.2 million, or 21 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $9.2 million, or 28 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2023.

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Related:El Pollo Loco’s margin improvement efforts seem to be paying off