El Pollo Loco Celebrates Día de los Muertos with Festive Free Pan de Muerto Bread and Vibrant Mural

COSTA MESA, Calif., Oct. 26, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In honor of Día de los Muertos, El Pollo Loco, Inc. (“El Pollo Loco” or “Company) (Nasdaq: LOCO), the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant chain, is giving away two personal sized loaves of traditional Pan de Muerto bread with every Familia Dinner purchase on Nov. 1. The restaurant chain also commissioned Los Angeles-based artist Steve Martinez to paint a larger-than-life Día de los Muertos mural on the exterior of its Inglewood, Los Angeles location to commemorate the occasion, and it will be selling two special edition gift cards adorned with rich Día de los Muertos designs for a limited time.

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a centuries old holiday celebrated in Mexico and throughout Latin America including South America, Central Americas, and the Caribbean annually on Nov. 1 to honor departed loved ones. The souls of deceased relatives are feted and remembered with food, drink and activities they enjoyed when they were alive, and families also leave ofrendas (offerings) at gravesites or on home altars. Traditionally, ofrendas typically include a loaf of Pan de Muerto, a Mexican sweet bread flavored with orange blossom and anise that is meant to nourish the essence of returning souls.

“At El Pollo Loco, we are incredibly proud of our Mexican heritage, and family and tradition are at the heart of everything we do,” says El Pollo Loco Interim Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Larry Roberts. “Our famous fire-grilled chicken and Familia Dinners are meant to be shared and enjoyed with loved ones, so pairing them with free Pan de Muerto on Día de los Muertos feels like the right way to recognize this time-honored cultural occasion that brings families together over delicious food.”

Customers who purchase a Familia Dinner in person or online on Monday, Nov. 1 will automatically receive a free package containing two small loaves of Pan de Muerto bread made using an authentic recipe approved by El Pollo Loco chefs.

El Pollo Loco commissioned L.A. artist Steve Martinez to paint an expansive Día de los Muertos mural on the exterior of the restaurant chain’s Inglewood location and he completed the piece on Oct. 12. Martinez specializes in creating art that represents a discourse between the symbolic and the realistic within daily urban life. His vibrant and striking El Pollo Loco Día de los Muertos mural is no exception. Visit El Pollo Loco’s YouTube channel to see the mural and watch behind-the-scenes footage of Martinez creating it.

El Pollo Loco customers can also commemorate the holiday with festive and vibrant special edition Día de los Muertos gift cards that will be available in two different designs for a limited time. Physical gift cards can be purchased at any El Pollo Loco location and e-gift cards can be purchased online at ElPolloLoco.com/GiftCards. As an added perk, customers who buy a $50 e-gift card online will get a $10 bonus card that can be used at any El Pollo Loco location, any time through Feb. 27, 2022.

In addition, El Pollo Loco is teaming up with TikTok influencers for a custom “Build Your Own Ofrenda” campaign. El Pollo Loco’s TikTok partners will showcase how they make their family ofrenda and share what the Día de los Muertos tradition personally means to them. For more on the campaign, follow the El Pollo Loco TikTok account.

About El Pollo Loco
El Pollo Loco (Nasdaq:LOCO) is the nation’s leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant with a mission to bring people together around food, family, and culture in the communities it serves. El Pollo Loco is renowned for its handcrafted L.A. Mex food, an innovative blend of traditional Mexican cuisine and better-for-you eating, that Los Angeles is known for. Since 1980, El Pollo Loco has successfully opened and maintained more than 480 company-owned and franchised restaurants in Arizona, California, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and Louisiana while remaining true to its Mexican-American heritage. El Pollo Loco continues to grow and evolve, nourishing connections to tradition, culture, and one another through fire-grilled goodness that makes us feel like familia. For more information, visit us at ElPolloLoco.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Rosie Herzog
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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7e4e154b-4e16-4677-882a-0e146a935563