Food

Pollo Tropical is opening its first location in the Florida Keys. It means one less of these chain restaurants.

By Miami Herald

Updated February 7, 2019 3:11 AM

The Wendy’s bacon cheeseburger is leaving and the Pollo Tropical TropiChop is on the way. Marathon is getting a Pollo Tropical, and Key West could be getting one, too.

In an effort to give Middle and Lower Keys residents and visitors a “fresh alternative,” Wendy’s franchisee Sam Nekhaila is about to transform his Marathon restaurant at mile marker 50 bayside into the popular fast-food restaurant.

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In Key West, he said several spots are under consideration, but the Caribbean-themed chicken joint is going in at the former Wendy’s in Marathon for sure. The nearest Pollo Tropical locations to the Keys are in South Miami-Dade.

Nekhaila hopes to have the conversion done by late spring or early summer and have the restaurant ready to open later this year.

This Wendy's in Marathon will be converted to a Pollo Tropical in the coming months. (Katie Atkins/Keynoter)

The building of the former Marathon Wendy’s took a beating during Hurricane Irma in September and was slated for a full remodel, but Nekhaila’s plans changed.

“I think down in Marathon, we need a fresh new concept and Pollo Tropical is extremely well-received in South Florida,” Nekhaila said. “It’ll give a nice alternative to the customers that are in Marathon by offering a different menu, especially for families.”

As for the 35 people who worked at Wendy’s before the Category 4 hurricane, some are still working for Nekhaila at the two Wendy’s restaurants in Key West and will be given the option to work at the new Marathon Pollo Tropical. Hiring will start mid-year, he said.

The building itself is empty and has been “cleaned and preserved for now,” he said.

Brothers Larry and Stuart Harris opened the first Pollo Tropical in Miami in 1988. Since 2016, 29 new restaurants have opened in Florida, Georgia and Texas under the direction of Fiesta Restaurant Group Inc.

More: http://hrld.us/2CIVyhn

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 7:01 AM.

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