This story about the Guatemalan fast food chicken restaurant Pollo Campero that just opened up in Chiago was in the Chicago Tribune last weekend and I really want to try their chicken. It turns out the restaurant is only about a seven mile drive from the Wizard's World convention we are going to this weekend. The area is just south-east of O'Hare Airport.

Nostalgia served piping hot
Move over, Krispy Kreme--fans flock to the opening of a Guatemalan fast-food eatery in Chicago, where meals come with a taste of home

By Oscar Avila
Tribune staff reporter
Published July 30, 2005

Screaming crowds strained at metal barriers. Blue and white Guatemalan flags waved, while a marimba band laid down a peppy xylophone-like soundtrack.

Then the crowd parted, and in waddled the hero of the day, a yellow inflatable chicken wearing an apron and a cowboy hat--Pollo Campero.

The Guatemalan fast-food chain with a cult following--some compare its hold on Central Americans to America's Krispy Kreme addiction--officially opened its first Pollo Campero outlet in Chicago Friday, dishing out equal parts fried chicken and nostalgia among immigrants.

About 200 devoted fans waited in line, some as early as 6 a.m., for the noon opening in the Brickyard Mall on the Northwest Side.

Among them was Bulmaro Calderon, a chef at the Four Seasons Hotel who was desperate for his Pollo fix.

In fact, Calderon had been hankering so badly for the secretly spiced chicken that he tried to replicate the chain's recipe with a mix of crushed cornflakes, red pepper and paprika. He never could get it just right.

Patrons Friday waxed poetic about the juiciness and crispness of the chicken. But they also spoke of their childhoods in Guatemala, when a trip to Pollo Campero was seen as a gesture of love by their parents. They spoke of celebrating birthdays there, taking first dates for dinner.

[Rest of story] free registration may be required

The address of the Chicago Pollo Campero location is:

2730 N Narragansett Ave
Chicago, IL 60639
773-622-6657

Pollo Campero English web site.