Fiesta Group CEO Tim Taft Focused on Growing Pollo Tropical Brand

Fiesta Restaurant Group’s CEO Tim Taft says 2015 will be all about growing the Pollo Tropical brand in Texas, Florida and expanding into Tennessee. Taft says the company will open between 24 and 26 new Pollo Tropical locations this year. Right now, Fiesta has around 320 outlets and Taft says it could triple that number once it fully penetrates the Texas and Florida markets alone. In addition to opening more stand alone locations, Taft says there are also opportunities to expand and license the Pollo name in non-traditional venues like airports, sports arenas and on university campuses. While Taft is optimistic about Pollo’s expansion he is also cautious about the expected rise in poultry prices. To hedge against that increase, Taft said Pollo raised menu prices four percent in November and he doesn’t foresee the need for any additional price increases this year. TheStreet’s Ruben Ramirez reports from Orlando.