The wait for El Pollo Loco is over as first Washington location opens
Chicken mania bumped up a notch this week when El Pollo Loco (Nasdaq: LOCO) opened its first Washington store on Southeast 256th Street near Kent-Meridian High School.
The wait was 2 1/2 hours during the Sunday opening, as cars and trucks lined up for over the equivalent of a city block, to 104th Avenue Southeast. On Tuesday, the line was about half a block, said an assistant to the franchisee, Jean-Paul Pirio.
A group of 20 people from Portland came up for their fill of the iconic brand's LA-Mex-style fire-grilled chicken, the assistant said. The 160-mile drive was nothing compared with the 530 miles to what had been the nearest El Pollo Loco in Yuba City, California, near Sacramento.
Some customers parked at the high school and walked to the restaurant whose opening came 1,224 days after Pirio announced plans for four El Pollo Locos in Pierce and South King Counties.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2025/12/30/el-pollo-loco-opens-washington-state-suburb.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
