Juan Pollo is a Mexican-style

rotisserie chicken Rotisserie chicken is a chicken dish that is cooked on a rotisserie by using direct heat in which the chicken is placed next to the heat source. Electric- or gas-powered heating elements may be used by using adjustable infrared heat. These type ...

restaurant chain headquartered in San Bernardino, California founded in 1984 by Albert Okura. Its restaurants are located mostly in the

Inland Empire The Inland Empire (IE) is a metropolitan area and region inland of and adjacent to coastal Southern California, centering around the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, and bordering Los Angeles County to the west. It includes the cities o ...

region of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

, with other locations in

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...

and

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

counties as well as the state of

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

History

Okura, originally a native of

Wilmington, California Wilmington is a neighborhood in the Harbor region of Los Angeles, California, covering . Featuring a heavy concentration of industry and the third-largest oil field in the continental United States, this neighborhood has a high percentage of Lat ...

, held a number of managerial positions in

fast food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typically ...

s in the area for

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

and

Del Taco Del Taco Restaurants, Inc. is an American fast food restaurant chain which specializes in American-style Mexican cuisine as well as American foods such as burgers, fries, and shakes. Del Taco is led by CEO John D. Cappasola, Jr., and is headquart ...

in the '70s and '80s. While serving as the manager for a Del Taco in

Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...

in 1981, an

El Pollo Loco El Pollo Loco (Spanish for "The Crazy Chicken") is the name of two independent restaurant chains that specialize in Mexican-style grilled chicken. Both were founded by Juan Francisco Ochoa. He established the first El Pollo Loco restaurant in G ...

opened opposite of his restaurant. He was impressed by the chain's char-broiled chicken and the simplicity of its operations. As he investigated what his options were to opening a chicken char-broiled restaurant, he met Armando Parra, who mentioned his area of

Chihuahua Chihuahua may refer to: Places *Chihuahua (state), a Mexican state **Chihuahua (dog), a breed of dog named after the state **Chihuahua cheese, a type of cheese originating in the state **Chihuahua City, the capital city of the state **Chihuahua Mun ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

had many rotisserie style chicken restaurants. Okura located a restaurant location in

Ontario, California Ontario is a city in southwestern San Bernardino County in the U.S. state of California, east of downtown Los Angeles and west of downtown San Bernardino, the county seat. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire metropolitan area, ...

but Parra believed the location was too small for char-broiled but suggested using rotisserie cooking instead. Okura changed his plans to rotisserie chicken and opened the first Juan Pollo in January 1984. Sales for the first day were $165, but Okura refined the operations of the restaurant, including what chicken sizes worked best, cooking time and flame temperature. Juan Pollo's second location opened in San Bernardino in January 1986. The restaurant also received a favorable review from Norman Baffry, a food critic for ''

The San Bernardino Sun ''The San Bernardino Sun'' is a paid daily newspaper in San Bernardino County. Founded in 1894, it has significant circulation in neighboring Riverside County, and serves most of the Inland Empire in Southern California, with a circulation area ...

'', which increased the popularity of the two restaurants. Okura trained his hourly employees to become future Juan Pollo owner/operators, and most of the restaurants are owned by former employees of the chain.

Philanthropy

In 1998, Okura purchased the location of the original

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

, opened in 1948, for $135,000 in a foreclosure sale. Okura relocated his corporate offices to the location, and opened an unofficial McDonald's museum on the site. Okura refers to the location as the "historic site of the original McDonald's," due to legal issues with McDonald's. Okura didn't plan to open the museum; it was a news item incorrectly stating that he was planning on opening a museum which gave him the idea. Juan Pollo has become involved with the revival of

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

, hosting its own annual Veteran's Day Parade and Car Show in front of the unofficial McDonald's Museum. Juan Pollo also has been one of the main toy contributors for the annual Christmas toy give away at the Route 66 park at La Placita on Mt. Vernon Avenue in San Bernardino. Okura also purchased the town of

Amboy, California Amboy is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County, in California's Mojave Desert, west of Needles and east of Ludlow on historic Route 66. It is roughly northeast of Twentynine Palms. As of 2020, the town's business district stil ...

on Route 66 in 2005 for $425,000. Okura plans on improving the town, adding a museum and making it a destination for those who are interested in Route 66.

References

{{Establishments serving chicken Restaurants established in 1984 Fast-food chains of the United States Fast-food Mexican restaurants Regional restaurant chains in the United States Companies based in San Bernardino County, California Fast-food poultry restaurants People from Wilmington, Los Angeles Restaurants in California 1984 establishments in California

External links

Official website

History

Philanthropy

See also

References

External links