Chicken Down
Pollo Tropical chicken chain suffers massive Dallas-Fort Worth closures
Sad news if you liked Pollo Tropical, the chicken restaurant chain. Fiesta Restaurant Group, its Addison-based owner, abruptly closed all locations in Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin, and Nashville, Tennessee, on April 24.
The company, which also owns the Taco Cabana chain, will continue to operate 19 Pollo Tropical restaurants, including 13 in Atlanta and six in south Texas, in which to work through strategies for future Pollo Tropical expansion beyond Florida. Up to five closed restaurants may be rebranded as Taco Cabanas. Where possible, employees impacted by restaurant closures will be offered positions at nearby restaurants.
Fiesta president and CEO Richard Stockinger says in a release that they've done a comprehensive review of all aspects of the business.
"Fiesta's recent growth initiatives diverted resources from our core markets, and some amount of renewal is required to restore momentum in these markets," he says. "While the decision to close restaurants is never easy, we believe it is vital to focus the company's resources and efforts on markets and locations that have proven successful for our brands."
But he still has faith in the Pollo Tropical brand.
"Prior disappointing expansion results in the Northeast and Texas notwithstanding, we believe the Pollo Tropical brand, featuring its fire-grilled marinated chicken, will serve as a platform for regional translation and substantial long-term growth," Stockinger says.
The company plans to relaunch the Pollo Tropical brand in September, and to relaunch the Taco Cabana brand later in the year.
That will involve tasks such as improving the quality and freshness of ingredients, addressing deferred maintenance needs to bring restaurants up to a high-quality standard, and reducing costs.
It also plans to curtail new restaurant development and remodeling until it finishes the revitalization.