Chicken for All: La Rosa Chicken & Grill’s Concept Satisfies Multiple Crowds Both Day and Night

For Vincenzo Pugliese, the founder of La Rosa Chicken & Grill, which recently started franchising, being in the restaurant business is a family tradition. It started with his father, Giovani. At 16, the elder Pugliese immigrated to the U.

S. with a lot of hope and a little money to pursue the American Dream. Starting off as a longshoreman in New York City, he opened a pizzeria and expanded to mall food courts by age 20.

Growing up in the business gave the younger Pugliese a first-hand look at what it takes to build—and grow—a successful business from the ground up, what ultimately led him to launch the now rapidly growing franchise concept behind La Rosa back in 1994.

Menu and concept

“I wanted to create a concept that brings the old-world simplicity of ingredients to today’s generation. I feed my customers what I feed my family, and that’s why we decided to focus on serving customers family recipes that are made from fresh ingredients in an environment that’s both friendly and lively. In short, we combine today’s food trends with top quality menu items that have been passed down for generations,” said Pugliese.

That commitment to combining the old with the new is at the core of La Rosa Chicken & Grill’s menu. The brand values taste and authenticity when it comes to its made in-house recipes. And La Rosa always takes into consideration what the customer wants—its innovative menu was originally created by Pugliese and his team after researching the trends and qualities that consumers are looking for when dining out.

What they found is that most chicken-oriented restaurants only satisfy a limited demographic. Either the concept focused on the dinner or lunch crowd, fried chicken versus grilled chicken, boneless chicken versus bone-in chicken, or a fast food versus fast casual approach. That’s why Pugliese created a concept that unites these fragments.

Day and night options

From hearty soups, salads, wraps and sandwiches at lunch, the dinnertime crowd can be satisfied as well with grilled and roasted chicken platters, chicken wings, chicken tenders and homemade sides as well as fresh seasoned vegetables. La Rosa also exclusively uses natural, preservative free, non-hormone injected and free of MSG chicken. That means that the brand has eliminated fillers and chemical flavors that are not only bad for consumers, but also take away from a product’s taste.

Beyond its commitment to providing its customers with a well-balanced menu, La Rosa also ensures that its recipes are made fresh across its entire system on a daily basis. The brand’s meats are marinated through a natural process, and are then cooked in ovens, kettles, open fire grills and rotisseries to reduce fat while retaining flavor.

Quality and expansion

“La Rosa Chicken & Grill is setting a new standard for quality in the fast-casual segment of the restaurant industry. Whether you’re stopping by for finger foods like wings and chicken tenders or ordering a whole chicken for your family to enjoy, our commitment to quality is evident,” said Pugliese. “That also applies to our customer service—we treat everyone like they’re family. Even as we continue to expand through franchising, we’re not forgetting our roots.”

With seven restaurants currently up and running across New York and New Jersey and another four in development, it’s clear that consumers are catching on to Pugliese’s one of a kind concept. And the brand’s expansion efforts are just getting started. With the help of franchisees across the country, La Rosa has its sights set on bringing its unique concept to new communities at a rapid rate.

“Now that our model has proven itself to be successful, we’re eager to continue growing. There’s a real need for a brand like La Rosa Chicken & Grill to innovate in the industry, and we’re going to capitalize on that demand,” said Pugliese.