El Pollo Loco is targeting Queens for its New York City debut in 2027, according to CNBC, as the restaurant company pursues a broader presence across the United States.

The planned location would introduce the chain to the city through one of its five boroughs. CNBC's report, dated September 29, 2026, places the opening in the following year but does not provide a specific opening date in the information supplied for this article.

The available account identifies Queens as the destination without naming a neighborhood or street address. It also does not specify the restaurant's size, its ownership arrangement or the investment required. Those details remain unconfirmed here.

El Pollo Loco trades under the ticker LOCO. Its planned Queens restaurant is a location-level development within the company's stated national expansion effort. The supplied reporting does not set out a timetable for that wider effort or identify additional markets scheduled to receive restaurants.

A plan to enter a city and an operating restaurant are different stages of development. Restaurant openings ordinarily involve securing premises, preparing the space, obtaining applicable approvals and assembling a workforce. The supplied information does not establish how far the Queens project has progressed through those steps. The 2027 timing should therefore be understood as the company's reported plan, with no precise launch date confirmed in the available material.

How restaurant expansion works

Restaurant chains generally grow through company-operated locations, franchised locations or a combination of both. At a company-operated restaurant, the business directly manages the operation and bears its operating costs. In a franchise arrangement, a separate operator runs the restaurant under an agreement governing use of the brand and its business system, usually in exchange for fees and royalties.

That distinction affects how expansion appears in a company's finances. Sales at a company-operated restaurant generally contribute directly to reported restaurant revenue. At a franchised restaurant, the brand owner's revenue generally comes from the payments specified in its agreement, rather than the outlet's entire sales total. The supplied report does not identify which arrangement will apply in Queens.

Restaurant counts also measure something different from financial performance. A new outlet adds to a chain's geographic reach, while revenue and profitability depend on operating results. Common restaurant measures include total sales, sales at comparable existing locations and restaurant operating margins. Each answers a different question: how large the business is, how established outlets are performing and how much revenue remains after specified operating expenses.

These distinctions provide context for a national growth plan without establishing an outcome for this particular restaurant. The available reporting includes no sales forecast, expected margin or estimate of the Queens location's contribution to El Pollo Loco's overall business.

What to watch

Further disclosures to watch for include the Queens address, a firmer opening date and the operating arrangement. Those details would clarify the scope and timing of the city's first El Pollo Loco, while additional location announcements would provide a fuller picture of the national expansion plan.