El Pollo Loco
El Pollo Loco was founded in Guasave, Mexico in 1975. In 2018, the company appointed its current CEO, who has made some changes. The Mexican-inspired food chain has closed restaurants in Texas and Virginia, though it still operates 487 stores in the south. El Pollo Loco first traded on NASDAQ as a public company back in 2014. It expanded into Lafayette and has gone even to Virginia, but that has not been quite a success as the past closures and upcoming ones in 2020 suggest.
El Pollo Loco
Pieology Pizzeria
Founded in 2011, Pieology Pizza operates 140 restaurants as of September 2018, but closures have happened and will continue to happen as the chain readjusts. In 2015, Pieology was among the fastest-growing restaurant chains, expanding into Hawaii by working together with Cotti Foods. In addition, the chain recently went international and opened a chain location in Guam. Franchise partners opening restaurants has allowed it to survive. The Cherngs, who established Panda Restaurant Group, also made a sizable investment in Pieology, which recently bought Project Pie. Pieology has shut several underperforming stores and more closures are upcoming.
Pieology Pizzeria
