The Mexican chicken chain has announced the debut of the Chicken Quesadilla, El Pollo Loco style.

Famous for chicken that is hand-marinated in a special blend of herbs, spices and fruit juices and then flame-broiled over an open grill, El Pollo Loco's new Chicken Quesadilla combines plenty of the chain's celebrated chicken with two kinds of Real California Cheese (Jack and Cheddar) in a large flour tortilla. Grilled to perfection, the result is a taste sensation only El Pollo Loco can deliver.

Guests can add sour cream or guacamole and personalize their Chicken Quesadilla with any combination of salsas from El Pollo Loco's salsa bar. Four varieties are prepared fresh every day: Pico de Gallo, Avocado, Spicy Chipotle and El Pollo Loco's famous House salsa.

El Pollo Loco is confident that its new Chicken Quesadilla will strike a responsive chord with consumers. �Some quick-serve restaurants offer quesadillas; ours, however, is built around a key ingredient that no one else has,� explained Jon Miller, director of research and development for El Pollo Loco.

�It's a generous helping of the marinated, flame-broiled chicken people crave, layered with Real California Cheeses, that separates our Chicken Quesadilla from others.�

El Pollo Loco (www.elpolloloco.com) will introduce its new Chicken Quesadilla through a multimedia campaign. General market and Spanish- language television commercials will continue to feature �Loco,� the animated spokesbird introduced earlier this year, with a new message inviting consumers to try the new Chicken Quesadilla. The commercials will appear as 15- and 30-second spots in select West Coast markets.

The new menu item will also be communicated to both general market and Hispanic consumers through 60-second radio commercials in select West Coast markets. In addition to radio and television spots, El Pollo Loco's new Chicken Quesadilla will be communicated to consumers through a wide mix of point-of-purchase vehicles including translites, banners and drive-thru communication.

El Pollo Loco Inc., a privately held company with headquarters in Irvine, offers a wide variety of fresh Mexican entrees (Pollo Bowls®, specialty chicken burritos, tostada salads, tacos al carbon and more) in addition to individual and family meal quantities of its famous chicken.

The nation's flame-broiled chicken leader currently operates more than 300 restaurants in four states: California, Arizona, Nevada and Texas. For more information about El Pollo Loco, visit the company's Web site at www.elpolloloco.com.

Contact: 
El Pollo Loco Inc., Irvine
Julie Weeks, 949/399-2150
jweeks@elpolloloco.com