Utah's Señor Pollo Mexican Grill eyes national expansion
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Chicken cooking on the grill. Photo courtesy: Señor Pollo Mexican Grill
Señor Pollo Mexican Grill, a fast-growing Mexican chicken chain, is gearing up to open two new outposts in Salt Lake City — and potentially more outside of Utah.
State of play: Jesus and Dulce Ruiz, a married couple, opened their first location in Ogden in 2018.
- Five years later, the business has expanded to seven brick-and-mortars with two additional stores anticipated in downtown Salt Lake City and Rose Park in the next couple of months.
The latest: Jesus Ruiz said his legal team is working on paperwork that would allow Señor Pollo to be franchised in all 50 states.
- And he's in discussions with investors to expand the chain into California, Nevada, New York and Texas.
- "We might go national by next year if everything goes well," he said.
The intrigue: Jesus Ruiz — who's from the Mexican state of Michoacán and was raised in Utah — said the Sinaloa-style grilled chicken is a secret family recipe with Lebanese roots.
- The chicken is marinated for about 24 hours and then cooked over a fire grill.
- The eatery's menu also includes tacos, nachos, tamales and a variety of salsas.
Zoom out: Sinaloa-style chicken is a popular take-out meal in Mexico meant to be shared with friends and family, according to Ruiz.
- He noted that tradition helped fuel to-go orders that allowed the business to grow amid the pandemic — a time when many restaurants struggled to stay afloat.
- Flashback: El Pollo Loco helped Sinaloa-style chicken gain widespread recognition when the chain opened its first Los Angeles store in 1980.
💭 Kim's thought bubble: I went to Señor Pollo's new Sugar House location last Friday to try their two-piece chicken meal and definitely plan to return.
- The citrus-flavored meat was juicy, tender and lightly charred.
- The rice and pinto beans, which came on the side, tasted like they came from my mother's kitchen.