Like many restaurant chains, El Pollo Loco had mixed results in the third quarter ended Sept. 25. The Costa Mesa, Calif.-based quick-service chain reported a 2.7% increase in same-store sales while also recording a 7.6% increase. dive into traffic.

According to El Pollo Loco CEO Liz Williams, the company is trying to offset this trend in declining transactions by offering more value to the casual customer, which includes a stricter, limited-time offer program at attractive price points.

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“(The decline in traffic) is definitely due to value-oriented consumers telling us they need more value than ever before,” Williams said. “We have been working for the last few weeks to determine what we can do to make this happen.”

Williams said many of the promotions El Pollo Loco puts on its calendar are repeats of previous popular deals, like double tostada promotions, and reboots of popular menu items like burritos in new flavors like Creamy Chipotle and Queso Blanco. . But Williams said customers are responding to new deals, such as the recent $5 Taco Tuesday promotion.

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“Guest feedback has been great, but more importantly this promotion has created a new trial that allows us to show our guests that we are really good food that is really good for you, with a product we don’t always recognize,” Williams said. “It’s no surprise that he wants us to offer a day, and it’s something we’ll consider as we learn more.”

In addition to working on menu innovation as a strategy to increase value, El Pollo Loco is also focusing on moving forward with a new high-tech store prototype unveiled earlier this week. The new prototype is a smaller, simpler design that will be less costly to develop and will help the company recover some of the money it spent on development.

El Pollo Loco is also on track to complete the rollout of the kiosks, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.

In the third quarter ending September 25, El Pollo Loco opened a net new restaurant, bringing its total number of restaurants across the portfolio to 496. The company reported total revenue of $120.4 million, down slightly from $120.4 million in the same quarter a year ago. Net income for the third quarter of 2024 was $6.2 million, or 21 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $9.2 million, or 28 cents per diluted share, for the third quarter of 2023.

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