Bloomberg: Fried Chicken Chain Cut Worker Steps by 9,000 a Day to Save Cash

Pollo Campero has revamped its layout at a Florida location to decrease the number of steps taken daily by workers during their shifts. The brand’s research revealed that workers were walking about 3.4 miles (or about 18,000 steps) per shift when preparing and delivering orders to customers. The new restaurant layout cuts that number of steps nearly in half to about 9,500. 

“Every step you save adds to the bottom line and saves labor costs,” Blas Escarcega, vice president of franchise development at Pollo Campero, told Bloomberg. 

The pilot store for this initiative has a double-sided island that is fully stocked with the products needed to assemble customer orders, with drive-thru workers on one side and dine-in workers on the other. 

Pollo Campero’s move aligns with broader industry trends of seeking higher productivity to counterbalance escalating expenses, including increased wages and inflation. Wages, in particular, are higher than ever before with a median base wage for restaurant workers coming in at about 18% higher than three years ago. Other chains like Popeyes and Starbucks are also adopting efficiency-focused initiatives such as kitchen revamps and automation to compete with the rising costs.

The fried chicken franchise is pulling out all the stops to stay ahead of the curve: Its drive-thrus feature digital boards that display options to customers before they pull up to the speaker so they’re ready to go with their decision when it’s their turn to order. 

Pollo Campero plans to use the Florida store’s layout as a blueprint for all new freestanding locations going forward. Efficiency is top of mind as the brand continues to expand. With about 100 locations currently in the U.S., the brand has ambitious plans to more than double its footprint with 250 locations by 2027.

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