Pollo Campero, the world’s largest Latin American chicken franchise, is expected to arrive in San Pablo by the end of 2025.
The Guatemalan franchise, headquartered in Dallas, is set to open a restaurant and drive-through late next year at the corner of San Pablo Avenue and San Pablo Dam Road. The restaurant will be built on a parking lot shared by FoodMaxx and Planet Fitness, and could create more than 40 jobs in the area.
The San Pablo Planning Commission last month approved the major design review and conditional use permit for the 2,619-square-foot project, and a Pollo Campero spokesperson confirmed the planned opening in late 2025.
“Pollo Campero wants to offer locals the opportunity to enjoy Campero’s internationally renowned citrus fried and grilled chicken, prepared using family recipes passed down through generations,” a Pollo Campero spokesperson said in a statement.
Since its inception in 1971, the restaurant has been a family-run restaurant in Guatemala City. The Guatemalan and Salvadoran diaspora has spread the good word of Pollo Campero in the United States. Passengers on international flights from Central America who don’t have Pollo Campero at home tend to bring boxes of chicken and sides on board, filling airplane cabins with the smell of fried chicken.
In recent years, the company has focused on expanding its presence in the United States. Pollo Campero opened its first restaurant in Los Angeles more than two decades ago and has also expanded into San Francisco. This year, Pollo Campero’s parent company, CMI Foods, celebrated the opening of its 100th restaurant in the United States, offering customers at the new Florida location free refills for life.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, there are Pollo Campero restaurants in San Francisco’s Mission District and Fisherman’s Wharf, as well as a Pollo Campero “digital kitchen” offering delivery and takeout only in Oakland.
CMI Food plans to open at least 25 new restaurants in the United States by the end of the year, reaching a total of 250 locations by 2028.
At the San Pablo Planning Commission meeting in June, officials expressed support for the proposal and appreciation for the outdoor seating options and the addition of trees.
Gabriela Marks, the architect involved in the Pollo Campero de San Pablo project, said the company was looking for communities that were vibrant and open to new products, and San Pablo was selected as one of them.
Marks asked the committee if they had had a chance to taste the food.
“It’s a very, very good product,” Marks said.
“I haven’t done it yet,” said Jerome Jackson, chairman of the planning commission. “But I look forward to seeing it once you’re in town.”
