El Pollo LocoFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A El Pollo Loco franchise requires a total initial investment of $794K – $2.7M, including a $40K franchise fee and an ongoing 5.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $2.2M[2]. SBA 7(a) loans show a 6.5% charge-off rate across 61 loans[1]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $794K – $2.7M
- 93rd pct Service Resta…
- Avg gross sales
- $2.2M
- 55th pct Service Resta…
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- 13th pct Service Resta…
- Units
- 498
- 88th pct Service Resta…
- SBA default
- 6.5%
- system-wide median varies by category
Quick verdict · Quick-Service Restaurants · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Quick-Service Restaurants avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Franchising since 1980. Systems this mature have refined operations and brand recognition.
Franchised units fell from 325 to 302 over 3 years. Investigate why operators are leaving.
Bottom line
- Total investment $794K – $2.7M including a $40K franchise fee, 5.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $2.2M/year (median $2.1M).
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 51/100. SBA loan charge-off rate of 6.5% across 61 loans (near or below the 16% franchise average, based on all SBA 7(a) franchise lending, 2010–2024).
- Bankruptcy history disclosed in the FDD. Review Item 4 for details before proceeding.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- EL POLLO LOCO, INC.
- Parent company
- El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.
- Predecessor
- and Subsidiaries
- Prior franchisor entity
- CEO title
- Chief Executive Officer
- Elizabeth Williams
- Incorporated in
- DE
- HQ
- 3535 Harbor Blvd., Suite 100, Costa Mesa, California 92626
- Auditor
- BDO USA, P.C.
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $468.7M
- vs $473.0M prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
Franchisees operate Mexican fast-casual restaurants serving flame-grilled chicken dishes, traditional Mexican fare, and beverages. Day-to-day operations include managing kitchen production, food quality control, staffing, inventory, customer service, and compliance with corporate standards and increasingly scrutinized California labor laws.
- CEO
- Elizabeth Williams
- Headquarters
- CA
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 7
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing
Initial investment breakdown
| Cost component | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Initial franchise fee | $40K | $40K |
| Working capital (3–6 mo) | $25K | $100K |
| Equipment, build-out, other | $729K | $2.5M |
| Total initial investment | $794K | $2.7M |
Source: El Pollo Loco 2025 FDD, Items 5 and 7[2]. “Equipment, build-out, other” is computed as total minus disclosed line items above.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$267K
12.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
15%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
6.7 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $794K – $2.7M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $25K – $100K
- Near category avg vs category
- Franchise fee
- $20K – $40K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 5.0%
- Net Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 5.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 10.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 5.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $1K |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $16K |
| Renewal fee | $20K |
| Total fee load | 10.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $2.2M
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- $2.1M
- Item 19 type
- net_sales
- Sample size
- 489 units
- vs category median 28 · large
- Range (low → high)
- $556K→$5.6M
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Quartile band
- $1.4M→$3.2M
- Bottom 25% → top 25%
- Transparency tier
- full
- Categorical assessment of disclosure depth
- Transparency
- 4 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · typical
Compared against 453 Quick-Service Restaurants brands
vs Quick-Service Restaurants averages
How El Pollo Loco Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 498
- Opened
- 3
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 1
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.2%
- Company-owned
- 173
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 65%
- vs corporate-owned
- Net growth (yr3)
- +0.6%
- Net unit change last year
- 3-yr CAGR
- +7.6%
- Compounded over last 3 years
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 7
- Projected new
- 16
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
- Transfer rate
- 1.4%
- Owners selling to other franchisees
- Termination rate
- 0.2%
- Franchisor-initiated terminations
- Ceased ops
- 0.2%
- Units that stopped operating
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 4 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 61
- Loan volume
- $38.7M
- Median loan
- $360K
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- 6.5%
- rates vary by category · see methodology
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- 97.4%
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 22
- Defaults
- 3
Vintage analysis
El Pollo Loco charge-off rate by loan vintage
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into El Pollo Loco's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 10 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 5 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 21-year lending trend
- SBA 504 real estate/equipment data
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
El Pollo Loco presents high-risk investment characteristics: negligible unit growth, withheld profitability data, going concern uncertainty, and widespread litigation affecting shareholders, franchisees, employees, and the company itself.
Litigation (Item 3)
Two derivative shareholder actions filed against EPLH officers and directors regarding alleged misrepresentations about comparable store sales. Galustyan Action dismissed October 7, 2020. Diep Action partially settled for $625,000 (less $156,250 in plaintiffs' fees) on September 10, 2021 against six defendants; claims against Trimaran Pollo Partners dismissed July 30, 2021 with appeal pending.
Largest disclosed settlement: $625,000
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
Disclosed in last 7 years
Roadhouse Holding, Inc. filed Chapter 11 petition on August 8, 2016 (Case No. 16-11819, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware) and emerged December 1, 2016.
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · BDO USA, P.C.
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: No
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 51 / 100 rating
- 01MEDStagnant unit growth (0.6% YoY) indicates system maturity or decline, not expansion opportunity
- 02MEDNo disclosed average net income despite $2.2M average revenue raises profitability concerns and suggests Item 19 earnings claims are withheld for a reason
- 03HIGHExtensive multi-front litigation including shareholder derivative actions alleging breach of fiduciary duty, securities fraud, labor law violations, and territorial disputes signals governance and operational problems
- 04HIGHFalse Going Concern status indicates the franchisor has serious financial or operational viability questions
- 05MEDHigh initial investment range ($793K-$2.7M) combined with undisclosed profitability and stagnant growth creates unfavorable risk-reward ratio
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 20 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Radius |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory radius | 0.5 mi |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 5 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| RoFR response window | 30 days |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | No |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | California |
| Litigation count | 6 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
Two derivative shareholder actions filed against EPLH officers and directors regarding alleged misrepresentations about comparable store sales. Galustyan Action dismissed October 7, 2020. Diep Action partially settled for $625,000 (less $156,250 in plaintiffs' fees) on September 10, 2021 against six defendants; claims against Trimaran Pollo Partners dismissed July 30, 2021 with appeal pending.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Training duration
- 50 days
- Training location
- Designated training facility
- Ongoing training
- Required
- POS system
- Oracle Micros
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: Oracle Micros
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
100 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
El Pollo Loco · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a El Pollo Loco franchise?
The total investment to open a El Pollo Loco franchise ranges from $794K – $2.7M, with an initial franchise fee of $40K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do El Pollo Loco franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the El Pollo Loco FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $2.2M. The median is $2.1M. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is El Pollo Loco's franchise failure rate?
Based on SBA 7(a) loan data, El Pollo Loco has a charge-off rate of 6.5% across 61 loans, meaning 6.5% of franchise loans were charged off. Charge-off rates are one proxy for franchise risk, though they do not capture all closures. This data comes from FOIA-sourced SBA lending records.
How many El Pollo Loco franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, El Pollo Loco has 498 total units in the United States, including 325 franchised units and 173 company-owned units. 3 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is El Pollo Loco a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates El Pollo Loco as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 51 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.