Business Alabama Podcast: Blas Escarcega on Bringing Pollo Campero Chicken to Alabama

Pollo Campero , the fast-casual restaurant franchise that focuses on better chicken offerings, began in Guatemala in 1971 as a small family-owned restaurant. Now the brand is an international franchise with over 270 locations worldwide. Eighty of those locations can be found in the U.S., but Pollo Campero isn’t stopping there. The brand plans to expand into new areas, including untapped Alabama.

“We like Alabama because it’s really part of the southeast. The appeal that people there have for the fried chicken and the consumption [of fried chicken] is highest in these areas and we understand that,” said Blas Escarcega , Pollo Campero’s franchise development director. “We also want them to taste our flavors that the brand has to offer. Especially in Alabama. As I go there and meet people, they really love what we have to offer.”

Escarcega is already connecting with potential franchisees to help reach the brand’s goal to open its first ten locations in the state within five years. Pollo Campero is looking at a few different qualifications before choosing exact site locations. The brand wants to be in communities with economic growth opportunities and bigger populations where the product would be received very positively.