Pollo Tropical (Spanish for "Tropical Chicken") is a South Florida-based restaurant chain and franchise specializing in food inspired by Latin-Caribbean, particularly Cuban, and Floribbean cuisines. Founded in 1988, the chain has its headquarters in Miami-Dade County, Florida.[1] It is best known for marinated and grilled chicken and various sides including black beans and rice, mojo roast pork and more.[2]
History
Pollo Tropical was founded in 1988 by two brothers from Miami, Larry and Stuart Harris. The chicken recipe was the result of Larry's studying cookbooks on Latin American cuisine and conducting experiments on his backyard grill to perfect the marinade. From the outset, the restaurant's strategy was to grill the marinated chicken in the customers' view. There were no prepackaged, precooked menu items and no microwave ovens. By 1993, the company had eight stores and went public. It opened 19 locations in one year including those in New York, Chicago, Atlanta and Tampa. Most of the new locations closed within a year after opening. In 1998, Pollo Tropical was sold to