El Pollo Loco

El Pollo Loco, Spanish for "The Crazy Chicken", is the name of two independent restaurant chains that are controlled by different companies, U.S.-based El Pollo Loco, Inc. and Mexico-based El Pollo Loco, S.A. de C.V. Both companies specialize in Mexican-style grilled chicken and were founded by Juan Francisco Ochoa. Ochoa established the first El Pollo Loco restaurant in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico in 1974 and then expanded his chain into the United States in 1980. Ochoa then sold his U.S. restaurants in 1983, which became El Pollo Loco, Inc., while keeping the ones in Mexico, which became El Pollo Loco, S.A. de C.V. Both companies have since occupied non-overlapping global territories, and have offered different fare.