Pollo Campero, Latin America’s largest chicken restaurant chain, celebrated its 45th anniversary April 27 with new United States restaurant openings in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Bronx, New York, as well as one new unit in Quito, Ecuador. Pollo Campero also reported a 9.6 percent same-store sales growth for the month of April. Campero first opened its doors in Guatemala in 1971 as a small, family-owned restaurant and has since grown to more than 350 restaurants worldwide.
The two new restaurant openings in New York and North Carolina mark the fourth and fifth openings for Pollo Campero in 2016. The openings are part of the brand’s plan to double its U.S. system in the next three years.
“We have come a long way since 1971, and we celebrated this special month by growing our family with new restaurant openings,” says Tim Pulido, president and CEO of Pollo Campero International. “It’s been 45 years since we opened our first restaurant, but the same passion, dedication, and care we put into each of our recipes are still present. Preserving these core values, as well as our original flavors, are what have made Pollo Campero so successful.”
As noted above, Campero reported 9.6 percent in comparable sales growth for the month of April in the U.S., helping the brand grow in both sales and in units. A key driver of this growth continues to be the brand’s Millennial consumer base, which is attracted to Pollo Campero’s unique Latin roots. To sustain the brand’s sales momentum, Campero is looking at technology to improve convenience at its restaurants; its new mobile app and online ordering test aim to simplify and expedite ordering.
