El Pollo Loco will celebrate the grand opening of its 500th restaurant on Friday in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the company said in a Wednesday press release. This location is the chain’s third restaurant in the state.
The Mexican QSR plans to open 10 stores this year, a majority of which will be outside of California. The chain is trying to grow from a regional powerhouse to a national brand, and also has restaurants in Arizona, Louisiana, Nevada, Texas and Utah, according to the press release.
“Behind this milestone is one of the strongest development pipelines we’ve ever had,” said Tim Welsh, El Pollo Loco’s chief development officer…