El Pollo Loco Grows Team, Footprint

The 500-unit chain El Pollo Loco has added several to its team.

For one, Damon Thomas was appointed chief operating officer, bringing extensive experience scaling high-growth restaurant brands across the country and leading operations across large, multi-market systems. His experience includes senior operations leadership roles at Shake Shack and Raising Cane’s.

Chief Development Officer Tara Hinkle joined El Pollo Loco in July, bringing nearly 20 years of experience in franchising, development and operational planning. She most recently served as president and head of Americas for The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and previously held franchise strategy and business partnership leadership roles at Taco Bell and Starbucks.

Additionally, Nadine Rodriguez—who most recently served as the senior director of supply chain at Luna Grill—joined El Pollo Loco as its director of capital sourcing and procurement this month. Rodriguez previously spent more than a decade apiece with Noodles & Co. and Chipotle across various roles. Rodriguez also was among attendees of FER’s first How To Spec Live event last week, serving as a panelist offering specification tips for high-speed ovens.

Growth Plans Ahead

Besides its new hires, El Pollo Loco has inked its first lease in New York (Queens) as part of three development agreements for 15 area restaurants over the next five years. The Queens location is expected to open in mid-2027.

“Entering New York is a meaningful step in building a thoughtful, scalable development pipeline for El Pollo Loco,” Hinkle says. “We are working with experienced franchise partners who believe in the brand, known for delicious fire-grilled chicken and fresh, high-quality ingredients, and understand the opportunity in this market. We are focused on choosing the right sites, selecting and supporting strong operators, and growing in a way that creates lasting value for our guests, franchisees and shareholders.”

The company says it plans to share additional location, franchisee and opening details as East Coast development progresses.

El Pollo Loco currently operates across 10 U.S. states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Utah and Washington. It also has licensed locations in the Philippines.