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Three O.C. Mexican chains in financial trouble
March 11th, 2009, 3:19 am · 82 Comments · posted by Nancy Luna, Staff Writer
Updated late Wednesday, 3/11, to include comment from Real Mex Restaurants
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Three Mexican restaurant companies with Orange County ties — Del Taco, El Pollo Loco and Real Mex Restaurants — are in danger of defaulting on their debts, Moody’s credit rating agency reported on Tuesday.
The latest Moody’s list, dubbed the “Bottom Rung,” lists 283 firms across the United States — from media and auto giants to troubled restaurant companies.
About 45 percent of these so-called “Death Watch” companies could “default on their debts during the next year,” wrote restaurant industry watcher Peter Romeo, who pens a blog titled Restaurant Reality Check.
The local companies in the worst shape appear to be Costa Mesa-based El Pollo Loco and Cypress-based Real Mex Restaurants. The latter company operates high-profile Southern California Mexican brands such as El Torito, El Torito Grill, Chevys, Acapulco and Las Brisas in Laguna Beach. Moody’s lists the financial outlook for El Pollo Loco and Real Mex as “negative,” while the outlook for Sagittarius Brands (parent company of Lake Forest-based Del Taco and Captain D’s) is considered stable. (read more financial details here)
“We are aware of the Moody’s list you referenced,” said El Pollo Loco spokeswoman Julie Weeks. “Thank you for giving us the opportunity to comment, but we do not have an official statement or response at this time. ”
Del Taco Chief executive Paul Murphy said the Moody’s report “imparts no new
information relating to Sagittarius.” Specifically, he said, Del Taco has “ample current liquidity” and expects to show substantial profitable growth in 2009.
Steven L. Tanner, interim Chief executive of Real Mex Restaurants, said the company re-structured its debt in mid-November. “The sales environment is the worst that the industry has seen for as long as I can recall but we are managing through it reasonably well,” Tanner said late Wednesday.
The downturn for these restaurants is not sudden.
All three companies have been in dire financial straits since last summer, according to Sarah E. Lockyer, financial editor for industry trade publication, Nation’s Restaurant News. (Read Lockyer’s August 2008 report.) In November 2008, El Pollo Loco carried an average debt balance of $248.3 million, down from $265 million for the same period in 2007.
Still, is it really doomsday for these local Mexican eateries?
“Yes, they are in trouble,” Lockyer said. But, she added, the entire industry is going through a rough patch because revenue is down and credit is tight.
To boil it down — these companies, as well as the others listed on Moody’s Bottom Rung report, aren’t “making enough money to pay off their credit card bills,” Lockyer said.
As a result, the O.C. companies might close a few restaurants and face higher interest rates on future credit lines. However, none of them are expected to go belly up a la Bennigan’s, she said.
Related stories:
- The Orange County Register parent company, Freedom Communications, Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver and Irvine-based St. John Knits International also made Moody’s Bottom Rung list.
- Islands to close under performing O.C. eatery today (3/11)
- Kona, formerly Sam’s Seafood, rebranding, again
- El Torito closes Mission Viejo location
- LIST: Orange County Restaurant Closures.
- Big time casual dining operator in O.C. files for bankruptcy
- Restaurant closing sends family into economic hole
- Carino’s Italian Grill in Orange closes
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CLOSE EM ALL. COOK AT HOME MORE AND GET HEALTHY.
STOP GETTING FAT……….
Lets break it down….
El Pollo Loco = Mediocre at best
Del Taco = Garbage
Real Mex:
Las Brisas = Good
Chevy’s = typical gringo-ized mexican chain. OK salsa, food mediocre
Acapulco = Garbage
El Torito = DOG FOOD
El Torito Grill = never been because El Torito is SO HORRIBLE
So the short and simple is that it would be a GOOD thing if all of these places went bankrupt. Some new entreprenuer would buy up the good assets (like Las Brisas) and the poor ones will be wiped off the map and someone else will move in. Lets get some good mexican food in OC not this trash!
http://www.beyondthemargin.net/2009/03/obama-stimulus-plan-south-park-style.html
Wow, with all these “Mexican’ restaurants closing I’m at a loss for words. Good thing I still have Las Brasas in Costa Mesa !!!
Whoa, I thought the article was about mexican resturants. Thats a joke. None of those resturants should be considered Mexican resturants. Try Los Sanchez & Casa Garcia in Garden Grove or Los Grandes in Santa Ana. Nice clean true MEXICAN restuarants!
THEY SHOULD BE CLOSED. THE QUALITY OF THE FOOD IS SO BAD AND OVERPRICE
Oh no! But I have to go to Chevy’s before they close so I can get a giant sombrero for my birthday!
Half of the restaurants, chains or not, will disappear by the end of 2010.
Good. We have too many mexican style restaurants in OC anyway. Have them set up shop in Guadalajara and take their workers with them. I wouldn’t go into one of those establishments to use the restroom. I would go in my pants first.
I make better tacos, burritos, carnitas, and salsa at home anyway.
Del Taco get your act together…that’s what happens when you got rid of DAN bring him back…
I love El Torito.. Not so much El Torito Grill..
let’s all go to Patriot”s house for dinner!
Aww..I like all those places. I don’t know what I’d do without El Torito brunch!
The last time I bought El Pollo cheeeeken (over 10 years ago), it was so bad that when I got home, I had to throw it out. It would have cost me more in gas to take it back. Good riddance.
oh no gringos will miss out on real mexican fooddd oh nooooo dont close el pollo loco..are you loco! this whole country is going down the drain..to bad to see this happend to what once the best country in the world ..Canada here i come!
El pollo Loco has horrible customers service. Every one I talk to has an issue with them because they can never get an order right., and El Torito is just way over priced. There is no reason why a salad needs to be $15.00. Del Taco has good deals so I don’t believe that they’ll go under.
What? El Pollo Loco chicken is like 5x better than KFC! Del Taco I can do without. Real Mex, I never been there. I hope they don’t close El Pollo Loco. Food may be cost more than KFC, but the chicken is so much better.
To WUDY JANZEWSKI
Cooking at home - that is easy to say. You obviously are a stay at home mother who probably home schools and has your children help you cook and cleanup as one of their classes. For the rest of the world, people work hard outside the home, especially many mothers who need the convenience of take out. And in some circumstances, it is not cheaper to cook at home.
Don’t close El Pollo Loco.
Oh as far as Del Taco is concerned, they do have the best fish taco for the price in the business, much better than Rubios. Well maybe not as good as Wahoos. Actually come to think about it I think Wahoos will probably be one of the last ones standing. I have never heard anyone say anything negative about Wahoos.
JoJo: I’m with you ..bring Dan back! And, by the way..let me clarify again: as stated in the story, none of these chains are going belly up. They have big debt problems, which could force them to close some under performing stores.
I agree that El Torito is totally over-priced and has been for a long time. My husband and I went in for happy hour on a Saturday night in Tustin, and my gosh, the restaurant was empty.
bennigan’s closed?!
no wonder my friend butters has been feeling down lately
You call those Mexican Restaurants? Are you joking?
Esters Taco House in Yorba Linda is still going strong. Reasonable prices, great food, great happy hour, great staff, and great clientel. Better mexican food all around if these other places go belly up.
Hey Birk, I cook almost every night and you can do way better than most of these places at home. Stop and buy a pre-cooked roto chick at almost any market for $5.99, some tortillas, an avocado, some good salsa, beans etc. and you can feed 4 for less than $15. Prep time is maybe 15 minutes.
Phew! Scared me for a moment. Glad Supermex is not on that list. The ONLY place I get Mexican food. The rest are “Gringo-fied” mexican food!
I agree, El Torito is WAY over priced. Me, my wife, and one kid go eat there and it’s $45! That’s ridiculous for what you’re given.
As for this idea of eating at home… sure I guess I would be cheaper than El Torito, but it ain’t like it’s that cheap. If you make a meal… a real meal.. with veggies, meat, fruits, etc. it’ll cost you a fair amount. It’s not like it’s THAT much cheaper to make a meal at home. Ok, maybe if you’re talking about nuking some chicken and boiling some rice then ok, but that’s not a balanced meal and you could nuke some frozen thing, but that’s not any healthier than going through a drive through.
Even though El Torito is overpriced, that’s not the only out of home dining option, and like someone else stated, there are plenty of options that cost just about the same amount as if you’d made it at home.
Can’t beat Los Sanchez in Garden Grove. Great food at a good price.
OCobserver….I agree!
The El Pollo Loco in Aliso Viejo is the worst. Those helmet wearing employees have the worst attitude and think they are the shizz! They pick their nose and run their hands through their hair right before they serve your food. Drive thru sucks, when you get home, there’s always stuff missing.
If that place goes, the cops are gonna have to find another place to hang out at.
Darn, now I am hungry!!!!!!…..lol
The people who work at el pollo loco in anaheim hill’s are the rudest you have to tell them to cook the chicken well,this is the one on santa anna canyon rd at weir canyon..the prices is out of control.and the food is yak…was a good place about 5 years back..i go to taco bell instead. cheaper..del taco is o.k. i could care less if pollo loco goes…over priced dog food..
I agree with Jimbo, you can’t beat Los Sanchez…. it is great and Tony the owner is a good guy. Try the chilaquiles…mmmmm
Hasta el Pollo Loco! You blew it years ago when you started to serve red meat, fried foods, used more chemicals in your marinades and purchased low grade beans, rice and tortillas. By doing all this you lost the backing of the American Heart Association and other health base sponsors. You’ve cheated your client base far too long.
Try Ancho’s in riverside..they have great food and drinks.worth the drive.and the owners walk around making sure it is good..the chips are hot.and never ending salsa.”Ancho’s”
Frescas is awesome. Go there!
fajitas sounds good, is it lunch time?
I wish I knew how to make the El Pollo Loco chicken at my house. Grilled is good!
Los Sanchez was better when it was at the old location……………the food isn’t as good now………..
Jalapenos is still my FAV! Best tortilla chips ever.
Stop eating out and getting fat America. Del Taco is some sick sh&t.
WUDY JANZEWSKI Says:
March 11th, 2009 at 5:05 am
CLOSE EM ALL. COOK AT HOME MORE AND GET HEALTHY.
STOP GETTING FAT……….
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I concur. I hope all of these fatty chains file for bankrupcy, or close completely. This recission may help all of us get healthier due to cooking our own food at home!
NOOOOOOOOOOO
not Del Taco!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Anita’s New Mexican Style food in the South Coast area should have stayed open. Now that was some reall good Mexican food, if you ever been through New Mexico, you know what I’m talking about.
Anita’s has the original location in Fullerton - just past the Costco on Harbor Blvd. Had breakfast there this morning. Makes the best carne adovada.
none of those are really mexican restaurants, Los Sanchez is a good restaurant the owners are mexican, the other ones they just have the name because none of the food they make is not good Wanna be enchiladas they use salsa de pato chilakiles thet use tomato sause, beans they buy the can beans, rice they use the box of rice of roni… people that they don’t know how to cook they thing that the food they sell in el torito or del taco is really mexican food, but is not…. home made food is the number 1 and home made flour tortillas,,,, and i make very good fish tacos better that Rubios.. Ensenada Style….
El Patio is great. I prefer them over any one of these places… even if they closed down one time for health reasons. Been going there for years.
And I cook at home too. We go out once or twice a month for a change of pace. And we are NOT fat Wudy!
Why does El Pollo Loco sell only lethargic chicken? Their chicken has NO meat in it!! Their new campaign slogan should be “Where’s the white meat”? (take off from Where’s the Beef?!)
Wow, Ms. Luna seems to have struck a nerve with this story. As for me, I’m not a big fan of Mexican food and don’t go to any of the restaurants listed. On occasion, however, I do buy a fresh guacomole kit from Trader Joes and make some nachos for TV time. But that’s about as Mexican as I get when it comes to cuisine, so no big loss for me if these places go under.
Nothing wrong with going out sometimes. Even if it’s gringo city, Don Jose’s sends a mailer for a “buy one get one free” meal almost every month if you sign up. And they make their stuff fresh, not shipped from a central kitchen like some of the others.
Avila’s El Ranchito is the only really good Mexican food in Orange County. They have several restaurants, and they are always packed!
Good food, good service, good prices = success
these restaurants are closin cuz they are lousy….only the best businesses with the best product, service and management are going to survive the downtown.
Del Taco is not Mexican whatever foods. I’m Asian and I know that.
The the closest thing to clean and cheap Mexican foods to me is Alertos by Brookhust and McFadden.
El Pollo local is joke about chicken. You guys should try some to cook some fresh chicken from a few Poultry places once.
El Pollo Loco Rules.com
Birk V: obviously, you’ve never tried. Home cooking is not buying some prepared meal-in-a-box to be heated in your microwave.
Try cooking from scratch. If you plan your meal, it takes less time than driving to the local McFood outlet. And a thousand percent more healthy. And Cheap.
As to all the closures, I’m sure you’ve all been to places and wondered “How do they stay in business?” Well, this recession is going to take care of that. The ones left standing will be effiiciently-run enterprises that offer real value for your money. The parasites will be gone. All that will be left will be In-N-Out burger and Wahoo’s.
I’m confused???
El Puko Loco and Del Taco are the farthest things from “mexican restaurants”.
Someone has never been to Mexico.
” All that will be left will be In-N-Out burger and Wahoo’s.”
HAHAHAHA that’s hilarious. You people are crazy. Save for some closures of underperforming locations (not the entire chain) things are going to look pretty similar to how they looked before the recession started. Yea, sure, McDonald’s, KFC, Taco Bell, etc. are all going to be gone… HAHAHAHAHA
Jarvis- some of have been to Mexico and that $5 lobster dinner cost us $$$ in doctor’s bills from the revenge.
meh, whatever. lousy food anyway.
NO - Not Del Taco! They are the only fast food chain left with crinkle cut french fries. I do not like El Pollo Loco. Haven’t ate there in 3-4 years since they got rid of their black beans and got ripped off by the size of the chicken breast they give you. El Torito is only good for Taco Tuesday! Sunday brunch is just average/ok, nothing special.
Miguels in Foothill Ranch and especially in Corona!! take a drive to the 91 and 6th Street…its worth it!!!
El Pollo Loco has too many TV commercials! How much is this costing? Take a business class-you dont need to run the same “chicken carnitas” ad 5 times during one program. Also, of the aforementioned carnitas-$1.79 for a teeny, tiny taco?? Joke. Also their pinto beans are good, but Very Inconsistant. Sometimes watery, sometimes spicy. I have contacted customer service many times and they never reply. To them I say–Told Ya !
What about Baja Fresh? Their food is way overpriced!
El Pollo Loco in Aliso Viejo is great. grilled chicken, the best, services are good, and it is always clean. oh, don ‘t close this one, please!!!.
Anita’s New Mexican Style food is still open in Fullerton.
“Haven’t ate at El Pollo Loco in 3-4 years since they got rid of their black beans”
Well, did you know they brought black beans back? I’m late to this thread so you probably won’t even read my comment.
LOTS of other misconceptions mentioned in this thread that I’m too late to to correct.
BTW, El Torito (not ETG) used to send out mailers mentioning a special entree, a special drink, and a special dessert. Now their mailers don’t mention special drinks or desserts anymore. I don’t think I’ve been back since the change except twice when a group was going.
The Crazy Chicken rocks. As for the other “Mexican” food restaurants, the’re about as Mexican as the Olive Garden is Italian.
El lobo brings them all down. Chevys,ETPHONE HOME, and all the cafateria food they serve. you get what you reap.
late
“As for the other “Mexican” food restaurants, they’re about as Mexican as the Olive Garden is Italian.”
But I’d certainly call the Olive Garden “Italian” before I call it Chinese. In the same vein I’d call Taco Bell and Del Taco “Mexican” before I call them French. Anyways, Taco Bell officially claims to be only “Mexican-inspired” so it doesn’t make sense to castigate them for not being Mexican when that’s not what they are claiming themselves.
I can also tell you that Del Taco is not trying to fool anybody about being the most authentic Mexican food around. But the last time I was at Del Taco it was all Mexicans working there, other Mexicans were eating there, and when I left I saw a truckload of Mexican construction workers getting ready to go inside to eat and they all seemed excited about it. When I see stuff like that I may still know inside that Del Taco is not the most authentic Mexican food around, but I’ll keep myself from going so far as to claim they are NOT Mexican at all.
Personally, I have been to over 200 Mexican restaurants in the county and I have been to all types. My in-depth exposure keeps me from saying there’s only one Mexican place anyone should go to or only one type of Mexican food anyone should bother eating.
Regarding the possible bankrupcy or closure of the El Torrito Restaurant Group owned by Real Mex; I say Pay Back is “Hard”…
2 of the last 3 times I have eaten at a certain Northern California El Torrito Restaurant someone has felt ill. It happens to be near a place where we play baseball so it is very convenient.
The last incident involved at a party of 30 people where 20% felt ill after dinner. My son couldn’t play baseball the next day because he was so dehydrated. Although the managment made good by sending me gift certificates to pass out to the team parents to “Try them again”,
I could not give away the free gift certificates?
El Torrito is about as Mexican as Olive Garden is Italian. At Olive Garden at least no-one gets ill and the salads are great.
Someone who will not shed a tear for El Torrito going away, excepting for the employees who would be out of work.
Dino
“El Torrito is about as Mexican”
What makes it un-Mexican? People getting sick?
el pollo loco is way over priced!!
But they do have coupons all the time. I pretty much just go when I have a coupon to use there. Even without coupons they have a bunch of stuff on their value menu.
The time has come for these restaurants. Time for new blood to come in and serve real mexican food. El Pollo Loco jumped the shark when they went corporate. I never went back after they got rid of the potato salad.
Mexican food is very hard to come by in California. The greatest Mexican food that I have had the pleasure eating is Real Mexican Food. I love the El Torito’s authentic styles and prices. I especially love the Happy Hour! You can leave the restaurant with two margaritas and a fiesta platter for only $15.00. What a bargain!!!! Furthermore, the atmosphere, plus the hospitable staffing is fantastic. I would recommend visiting any Real Mex Restaurants in California to taste the pleasure of REAL authentic Mexican Food………
All the restaurants list are not real mexican food. this is gringo food made by gringos in microwaves. T.J el torito is not authentic mexican food it comes out of a can.
“Time for new blood to come in and serve real mexican food. El Pollo Loco jumped the shark when they went corporate. I never went back after they got rid of the potato salad.”
I know this thread is old and almost dead but is funny to see someone saying, “El Pollo Loco used to be real Mexican food . . . like when they had potato salad. Now that they got rid of potato salad they are not Mexican.”
Also, people arguing over whether or not El Torito is authentic (and there seems to be opinions on both sides) is funny. Nobody can even explain what authentic means. In my extensive experience you can’t brand something as being either authentic or inauthentic. It’s more a matter of “degrees” of authenticity. Is El Torito the most authentic Mexican place around? Probably not, but it’s still waaaay more Mexican than Panda Express. Same with El Pollo Loco and any other place that’s been discussed here.
The problem with today’s so calle authentic Mexican food is that it no longer contains lard. Unless they bring back lard, and other original ingredients, most of these reastuarants will fail. I noticed Taco Bell is not on that list of death watch establishments. You guess it…they still fry with lard.
What does authentic mean> Well, if you’re not running for the bathroom 2 hours after having a mexican feed, then it ain’t authentic.
16.Birk V. Says:
March 11th, 2009 at 9:43 am
To WUDY JANZEWSKI
Cooking at home - that is easy to say. You obviously are a stay at home mother who probably home schools and has your children help you cook and cleanup as one of their classes. For the rest of the world, people work hard outside the home, especially many mothers who need the convenience of take out. And in some circumstances, it is not cheaper to cook at home.
TO: Birk V.
who cares what you do outside the house we all do that, we all work hard . Some have kids some not but guess what. IT’s ALWAYS CHEAPER TO COOK AND EAT AT HOME. If you stop to add up all the costs of eating out. One meal may cost $40-60 for a family of 3 after drinks dessert and tip…(yes tip because we dont eat unhealthy mcdonalds or del taco crap we see how fat everyone has become.) But we rarely eat out anyway. Seems like a waste of cash. Being a chef i see how food is handled and how much profit is made off it. neither is very appetizing really.
But anyway i can feed my family of 3 well, very well for a week with about $70 or less. For some people thats two meals eaten out in a day. You cant make statements like eating out is cheaper or easier. It may be easier but is it really in the end?
I wish everyone good health, please eat at home dont eat out….. yes i’m a chef i make a living on people eating out but unless you’re eating in a $15 a plate place you probably are eating fats, carbs and salts then washing it down in soda.
Yo Qiuero, Instant Diarrhea!
If they close El Pollo Loco my cat will be pissed. She loves the stuff. I think most businesses will close in Southern California by 2012. The best food joints are all in Texas anyhow. That’s were I’m headed. California has no future with all the taxes and high prices, plus zero-jobs.