El Pollo Loco started out as a restaurant chain in Sonora, Mexico. Ricardo Alvarez-Malo was as a restaurant manager up at Dennys in Los Angeles when Dennys bought out El Pollo Loco. He was recruited to assist their cooporate endevour and offer translation services. In 1987, the first two El Pollo Locos were built in San Diego, one at El Cajon Boulevard and 54th Street and the other in National City. There you have it, another claim to fame for El Cajon Boulevard!

For a decade, business was slow and other food chains such as Taco Bell and Carls Jr closed their business in this area. El Pollo Loco was considering the same, but Ricardo saw an opportunity to improve the level of service and the quality of food and seized the opportunity to buy the restaurant.

Healthy, good quality food is what El Pollo Loco is known for. Their menu is all about the pollo (chicken), which is what they do well. This is not a fast food environment. The slowly roasted chicken takes an hour to prepare. The salsa bar is an unforgettable treat and the frijoles de hoya (bean soup) are served whole, not mashed up and refried. When El Pollo Loco started out, there were four menu items, chicken, corn tortillas, beans and salsa. In order for the corporation to capture the interests of American consumers, who believe that Mexican food equals burritos and tacos, they repackaged this concept and created an extensive menu with a variety of burritos, tacos, salads and vegetarian items.

Unlike most small business owners, Ricardo did not choose El Cajon Boulevard, it chose him. Fortunately, Ricardo knows that the secret to marketing his business is to become a familiar face around the community. El Pollo Loco has been successful at catering parties, meetings and family get-togethers in the community. He admires this urban environment and became especially interested in the number of organizations in this community that are focused on improving the neighborhood. He soon got involved with Jackson Elementary and sent his staff to read books to children during school. His longest standing commitment has been to the El Cajon Boulevard Business Improvement Association. He has been on the board of directors for nine years and has served as treasurer since 2001.