Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include responses from El Pollo Loco corporate officials.

Colorado Springs’ first El Pollo Loco debuted last week, opening more than four years after officials from the Southern California-based company announced plans to expand to Colorado.

The restaurant, known for its fast-casual Mexican fare, opened Wednesday at 825 E. Fillmore St. inside a renovated former KFC. El Pollo Loco said in March 2021 it planned to open five locations in the Colorado Springs area and as many as 15 in the Denver area.

The Colorado Springs location is the brand’s 500th restaurant, the company said by email.

“We’re so happy to be here,” said Manjinder Singh, a co-franchisee who operates the restaurant with Jabran Khan. “The community has given us a lot of love.”

Around 2:30 p.m. on Friday, the dining room was packed with patrons ordering and eating their lunches. A line of cars waiting to order in the drive-thru wrapped around the building and out onto Fillmore Street.

The chain is known for its emphasis on fresh ingredients and fire-grilled chicken. Its menu includes tacos, burritos, tostadas and sides like chips with guacamole or queso, tortilla soup and cinnamon churros for dessert.

Juan and Martha Cardenas eagerly anticipated El Pollo Loco’s local opening and said “it was well worth the wait” as they finished a lunch of chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, rice, beans and more.

They often take trips to California, where Martha is from, and every time they visit they make sure to stop for a meal at El Pollo Loco.

“I couldn’t wait for an El Pollo Loco here. And it was fantastic,” she said of her lunch and the new Colorado Springs location.

El Pollo Loco currently operates two other restaurants in Colorado. A restaurant at 4698 Peoria St. in Denver opened in November 2022, and another at 5480 Wadsworth Bypass in Arvada opened in November 2023. El Pollo Loco previously said it first needed to find a franchisee to develop the Colorado Springs market before opening locally.

The company plans to open 10 new stores in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Texas and Washington this year, the most since 2022, Restaurant Business previously reported.

Singh, who is also a co-franchisee of the Colorado Springs area’s two Wienerschnitzel locations, said he and Khan “felt El Pollo Loco was another brand a lot of people wanted to see here.” The franchisees plan to open additional locations in Colorado Springs.

The company will continue growing its presence in Colorado, particularly in Denver and the Springs. Officials “are optimistic” more El Pollo Loco restaurants will be added across Colorado by the end of 2026, the brand said by email.

“Colorado as a state has historically been a great performing market for El Pollo Loco, so we knew we wanted to grow our footprint here. When the opportunity to expand into Colorado Springs — a thriving, growing city with a strong sense of community, anchored by multiple universities — presented itself, we knew we wanted to set up shop here,” the company said.

Based in Orange County, Calif., El Pollo Loco was founded by Juan Francisco Ochoa in Sinaloa, Mexico, in 1975. In December 1980, El Pollo Loco opened its first U.S. location in Los Angeles. 

The brand joins several popular chicken restaurants and chains in Colorado Springs, such as KFC, Popeyes, Raising Cane’s and others.

“In terms of what makes El Pollo Loco stand out from the competition, the answer is simple: our food,” the company said. “We offer delicious, fire-grilled chicken with Mexican-inspired flavors ranging from chicken on the bone family meals to grab-and-go burritos and salads (among many other menu options). We are proud to offer our customers delicious, quality food at a price point that delivers value.”