Coppell-headquartered Pollo Campero’s Guatemala-based parent company, CMI Foods, opened its 100th fast-casual restaurant in the United States this month as part of a $190 million commitment to growing the brand.
“Each step forward in our growth plan helps to realize the dream of our founders and is the result of the passion for the brand that we all share,” CMI Foods Chairman Juan Jose Gutierrez said in a statement. “Pollo Campero’s expansion in new communities across the U.S. reflects our larger commitment to creating opportunities that change lives and delivering exceptional flavors to families across the globe.”
The company said the milestone underscores its dedication to growth and innovation in the U.S. and its decades-long business history that began in Guatemala. The 100th location opening represents CMI’s vision to bring Pollo Campero—which has a cult-like following in Latin America—to millions of new customers in communities across the nation.
CMI said the 100th U.S. Pollo Campero opened in Miami Gardens, Florida. The brand has several locations across Dallas-Fort Worth. Pollo Campero has more than 8,000 employees and nearly 400 restaurants around the world.
The brand’s story began in 1971 as a family-owned restaurant in Guatemala, the company said. Its first U.S. location opened in 2002, and the brand has maintained steady and deliberate growth ever since, bringing “the unique flavors of Central America” to millions of customers.
Expansion plans part of $1.8B investment
The company has a strategic vision for expansion, and said it has ambitious plans to open at least 25 new U.S. restaurants by the end of this year. It also plans to grow its U.S. footprint to 250 locations by 2028 to fuel the rising consumer demand while keeping the Guatemalan family’s deep-rooted culinary traditions.
“This is just the beginning—if we can do 100, we can open 1,000,” Campero USA Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer Luis Javier Rodas said in a statement. “It’s an exciting time for the brand as we continue to grow our fan base and spread the passion that so many people in Latin America have for our unique flavors in the competitive U.S. market.”
CMI said that much of its $1.8 billion investment will go toward its expansion in Central America, growing its CMI Foods division, which includes wheat flour mills and packaged goods and meat production operations, and technology and sustainability projects.
It said the investment also highlights the company’s positive economic impact. CMI is expected to create more than 40,000 direct jobs globally, fostering economic growth and spurring innovation and infrastructure improvement, the company said.
There are nearly 400 Pollo Campero locations worldwide in countries that include El Salvador, Honduras, Spain, Belize, Brazil, Italy and more. CMI will soon open its 150th Pollo Campero restaurant in Guatemala.
CMI Pollo Campero is part of Corporación Multi Inversiones-CMI.
The company said that for more than 53 years, it has led the chicken market in the region, serving more than 80 million customers annually.
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