COSTA MESA, Calif., Sept. 16, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- El Pollo Loco, Inc. (“El Pollo Loco” or “Company”) (Nasdaq: LOCO), the nation's leading fire-grilled chicken restaurant chain, pays tribute to its Hispanic heritage and Los Angeles roots by restoring a series of lost murals across Los Angeles during Hispanic Heritage Month as part of its ongoing commitment to give back to the cities that molded and influenced the brand.

“Hex BBOY” can be seen digitally during Hispanic Heritage Month at 417 East 15th Street, Los Angeles. Hex Rios created the mural to represent old-school west coast hip hop music. This piece was removed in 2017. This mural "Nuestra Gente es Linda y Poderosa” by Hex Rios was painted over by another artist, which at the time caused an uproar in the community. It can be seen digitally at 2841 Boulder Street, Los Angeles during Hispanic Heritage Month. This mural called "Zapata" by Juan Hector Ponce was a tribute to Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata Salazar (August 8, 1879 – April 10, 1919). This Hispanic Heritage Month, it can be seen digitally at 2000 W 6th Street, Los Angeles.

Los Angeles, one of the greatest mural capitals of the world, has seen an estimated 60 percent of murals vanish experts say¹. During Hispanic Heritage Month, El Pollo Loco is honoring the defunct Latino artwork by enabling a new generation to experience it. The restaurant chain is preserving this lost culture by teaming up with Warren Brand, a curator and board member of Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles, to digitally bring five murals from renowned Latino artists Juan Hector Ponce and Hector “Hex” Rios back to their original state with augmented reality filters.

From now through October 15, Angelenos and visitors walking by the five locations where the murals once were can scan a code with Snapchat and see what the artwork once looked like there, before it had been removed.

“We take pride in the culture and history our food, our people, and the city we call home,” said Bernard Acoca, President and Chief Executive Officer at El Pollo Loco. “Hispanic heritage is not a moment in time, it is what has shaped who we are as a company and how we put our values to practice by serving our customers and communities.”

Permanent Recreations
To ensure this timeless form of storytelling survives, El Pollo Loco is also paying homage to its heritage and the art that was once on Los Angeles’ walls by donating storefronts as the canvases to new murals. The first mural will be painted on El Pollo Loco’s original restaurant location on Alvarado Street, which since opening in 1980 has featured an indoor mural depicting life in Sinaloa, Mexico, the childhood home of the company’s founder.

The murals being digitally restored during Hispanic Heritage Month, include:

• "Nuestra Gente es Linda y Poderosa” – 2841 Boulder Street, Los Angeles
• “Hex BBOY” – 417 East 15th Street, Los Angeles
• “SK8 Still Lives” – 7753 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles
• “Migration” – 1262 South Lake Street, Los Angeles
• “Zapata” – 2000 W 6th Street, Los Angeles

For additional information about the initiative, please visit www.lostmuralsLA.com.

Footnote:
¹“Metro Admits To Painting Over Historic LA Mural”, LAist, April 23, 2019.

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 www.elpolloloco.com.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
Hannah Gray
Edible
323-202-1477
hannah.gray@edible-inc.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0c1d8b35-cb23-4f6d-8ffd-320e6301ea2b

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/69d9791f-863f-46b7-9276-70080398280e

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d6927faa-6950-4bdc-8dbf-f182ef1f74ca

Source: El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.