Gilmer Alfaro, an immigrant from El Salvador and seasoned restaurateur, is opening his fourth Pollo Campero, the Central American chicken concept, and the first in South Carolina in Rock Hill. With over 100 U.S. locations and close to another 300 worldwide, the Central American chicken franchise is growing quickly, bringing family-recipe-inspired, flavorful chicken meals to the markets it enters. Rock Hill’s new Pollo Campero restaurant is expected to open at 1022 Riverview Rd. Rock Hill, SC, 29732 on April 30th.
“I opened my first restaurant in 2016, and since then, have been passionate about bringing only the best and highest quality of food to the communities we serve. Years ago, I fell in love with Pollo Campero, and I am excited to open our fourth location in Rock Hill. We look forward to serving the Rock Hill community,” says Alfaro.
Pollo Campero’s new Rock Hill location is the latest addition to the fast-growing franchise brand’s roster of thriving restaurants, and marks the brand’s entry into South Carolina.
“We are always looking for passionate leaders with strong ties in their communities to join our family,” says Blas Escarcega, vice president of franchise development. “Gilmer understands what makes Pollo Campero so special, and we are excited to have him introduce the brand to diners who haven’t tried us yet. We know they are going to find fantastic success in Rock Hill.”
After opening 11 restaurants, increasing system-wide sales by 19%, and introducing new menu items at select locations in 2023, Pollo Campero crossed the 100-restaurant milestone in the U.S. earlier this year. With this major achievement, the leadership team is even more confident in the brand’s ability to continue its rapid growth nationwide with the support of both new and legacy guests.
“We have a fan base that has known us for many years in Central America and has continued to support our growth efforts wherever we go,” Escarcega says. “We’re very happy with the legacy customer base, and we also have new consumers that don’t know us but have been very open to coming and trying our food, and they continue to come. They love our food, menu and offerings.”
Pollo Campero is looking to continue its rapid growth across the U.S. with plans to open at least 25 new restaurants this year. The franchise is targeting expansion, both through corporate growth and franchise partnerships, in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Northern Florida, Utah, South Texas and Colorado.
