Southern California's El Pollo Loco, known for its flame-grilled chicken, is eyeing further national expansion after announcing surprisingly strong results for last year.

The Costa Mesa-based chain, which expanded to Washington and New Mexico last year, plans to open more locations in other states where customers have been lining up outside some of its new outlets for its citrus-grilled chicken dishes.

"Similar to last year, the vast majority of the 18 to 20 new openings in 2026 are expected to be outside of California," the company's chief executive, Liz Williams, said on an earnings call Thursday.

El Pollo Loco's shares, which have been moving sideways for months, shot up nearly 17% Friday as its results were well above Wall Street's expectations.

The expansion comes on the heels of a rebrand that company leadership has dubbed "Let's Get Loco," featuring a new store design and trials of new menu items like loaded quesadillas and horchata coffee drinks.

It also builds on the chain's recent successes outside California.

Its first Washington store in Kent, which opened late last year, has had to cut back operating hours to manage long lines — an indicator of pent-up demand — while its New Mexico franchise partner, pleased with results, is searching for sites to open more stores, Williams said on the call.

"While California has been our home and holds a rich history for our brand, we know El Pollo Loco is destined for more," Williams said on an earnings call last year when announcing new restaurants in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas and Washington.

New locations are coming to El Paso, Albuquerque, Dallas and Denver, and the company is in talks with potential franchise partners in the Midwest and Northeast, spokesperson Brittney Shaffer told The Times in an email.

In California, more locations are planned in Sacramento, Redding, the Bay Area and Southern California.

Shaffer said the company decided it was the right time to enter new markets after spending the past two years strengthening its foundation with improved unit economics, enhanced hospitality, and a revitalized pipeline of culinary innovation.

El Pollo Loco traces its history to the 1970s in Guasave, Sinaloa, Mexico, where it was started by shoe salesman Pancho Ochoa using his family's citrus-marinated chicken recipe.

The chain grew to more than 80 restaurants in Mexico and opened its first U.S. location in Westlake in 1980.

In 1983, Denny's Inc. bought Ochoa's American restaurants and expanded its network, though largely sticking to Southern California. The chain was later sold to a private equity group.

It has struggled during some economic downturns and weathered competition from fast-casual chains like Rubio's, Chipotle and Panera Bread, The Times reported in 2011.

But the tides are turning. Fast-casual options like Sweetgreen and Chipotle have become "skippable splurges" for customers struggling with rising costs.

El Pollo Loco may be just the right combination of price and differentiation from fast-food burgers at a time when consumers are looking to save.

El Pollo Loco, which went public on Nasdaq in 2014, reported on Thursday that its fourth-quarter comparable restaurant sales rose more than 2% from a year earlier.

Wall Street was impressed by its ability to cut costs to boost its profits.

The company said one of its secrets was to open new outlets in spaces that were already set up to be restaurants.

It saved money while expanding by not having to build out spaces from scratch, said Williams, giving the example in Dallas where it took over a former Arby's.

The chain's street corn-and-double-chicken burrito bowls and queso crunch double-chicken burrito bowls, which were introduced in late September, were "instrumental" in driving fourth-quarter results, the company said.

"The popularity of these hearty, value-driven, high-quality offerings was so positive that we made the strategic decision to keep both bowls as permanent menu items," Williams said on the Thursday earnings call.

Next on the menu to give new consumers an easy-to-grasp introduction to the company's take on chicken: chicken tenders and a chicken sandwich are expected later this year.

El Pollo Loco had 503 locations — the majority in California — as of the end of last year.

©2026 Los Angeles Times. Visit at latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.