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I t was simple, in the beginning. Larry and Stuart Harris started with a recipe for citrus-marinated grilled chicken. Taking the fresh, flame-grilled chicken marinated in a blend of tropical fruit juices and spices, they opened the first Pollo Tropical ® in Miami in 1988. The original restaurant, at 741 NW 37th Avenue, is still there today (newly remodeled and better than ever). They weren't done. The Harris brothers began expanding the Pollo Tropical brand, the name the gave it, inside and outside the continental United States. In 1995, they opened a franchise in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, eventually following with locations in Freeport, Bahamas, Tegucigalpa, Honduras and Barquisimeto, Venezuela. After successfully selling the business in 1998 (Carrols Corp. eventually bifurcated Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana ® to create a new, stand alone, publicly trad- ed company, Fiesta Restaurant Group ® Inc.), Pollo Tropical hit new heights. Today, the brand has seized a cult following for patrons who love its craveable island favorite dishes. Commercial Kitchens sat down with Tom McBride, VP of Construction and Design for the Fiesta Restaurant Group, to get his take on where the Pollo Tropical brand is heading. 89 JULY : AUGUST 2016 — COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION