El Pollo Loco has introduced a new restaurant prototype in advance of its 50th anniversary in 2025. The design, called Iconic, features modernized updates, including an updated color palette, footprint, and interior and furniture upgrades. It also includes more efficient equipment, such as energy-efficient hoods and HVAC systems.
The new design comes as El Pollo Loco plans to open its 500th location by the end of this year and as it targets new markets such as Boise, Idaho, El Paso, Texas, Kansas City, Mo., and Seattle-Tacoma. Driving that growth is the company’s new chief development officer Tim Welsh, who recently joined the company with more than 25 years of experience in restaurant and retail design. He previously served as senior vice president of design and construction for TriMark, an industry leader in foodservice design and commercial kitchen construction.
Prior, Welsh was the chief development officer of Crunch Fitness and QDOBA Mexican Eats. His experience also includes leadership roles at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Sweetgreen, and Walgreens.
During El Pollo Loco’s second-quarter earnings call in August, chief executive officer Liz Williams said the company’s goal to drive long-term franchise growth and become a national brand is hindered by current prototype buildout costs.
“To that end, we have made good progress on value engineering and reducing the cost of our prototype, while at the same time modernizing our brand image,” she said, adding that the new unit builds will reduce costs to about $1.8 million.
Those cost savings, she added, come from shrinking the box down to about 2,200 square feet. Williams noted that the current model is bigger than it needs to be as off-premises business continues to grow. The company was also “over-specing” the equipment package.
The prototype, Williams said, “bridges our current design to our future.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
