El Pollo Loco has hired Damon Thomas, a Shake Shack operations veteran, as chief operating officer and Tara Hinkle as chief development officer, the company announced Tuesday. The hires land as the fire-grilled chicken chain, which counted more than 500 restaurants at the end of Q2, prepares to enter New York with a Queens location expected to open in mid-2027.

The New York entry runs through franchising, not company capital. El Pollo Loco signed three development agreements — one with a long-time franchisee and two with new operators — that collectively commit to 15 restaurants across New York State over the next five years.

Thomas arrives from Shake Shack, where he served as senior vice president of operations for over a year, according to his LinkedIn profile. His résumé also includes leadership roles at Yoshinoya America, Quest Food Management Services, Raising Cane's and Islands — a background weighted toward fast-casual and quick-service operators that have scaled aggressively. His mandate at El Pollo Loco covers both company-operated and franchised restaurants: he said he plans to work with both teams to "drive operational excellence" and build systems that support the brand as it opens in New York and other new markets.

Hinkle, who joined in July, brings almost 20 years of experience in franchising, development and operational planning. She most recently served as president and head of Americas at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, with earlier stints at Taco Bell and Starbucks.

"Entering New York is a meaningful step in building a thoughtful, scalable development pipeline for El Pollo Loco," Hinkle said in a statement. "We are focused on choosing the right sites, selecting and supporting strong operators, and growing in a way that creates lasting value for our guests, franchisees and shareholders."

The leadership buildout follows a stretch of measurable operating momentum. El Pollo Loco reported three consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth, improved restaurant economics and continued progress on its transformation plan — the foundation management says now supports new unit growth. Earlier this year the chain entered its 10th state with an opening in Idaho.

CEO Liz Williams framed the hires as the final piece of that sequence. "We have strengthened our brand and operations, enhanced our business model, and assembled an experienced leadership team to support sustainable expansion," Williams said in a statement.

The staffing pattern mirrors what other growth-stage chains are doing: Panera recently added operations and supply chain executives to support its turnaround, and Einstein Bros. Bagels staffed up its C-suite ahead of national expansion. For El Pollo Loco, the bet is that operators with experience scaling brands in dense, high-cost markets can translate a West Coast-heavy footprint into a national development engine.

The first test comes in Queens in mid-2027, with 14 more New York units to follow by 2031.