Maria Hollandsworth, the chief operating officer and president at Orange County’s fifth largest restaurant chain El Pollo Loco, launched her 30-year career in the restaurant industry working as a fast-food fry cook.
She joined the Costa Mesa-based quick-service chain in late 2022, and after only one year as COO, Hollandsworth was named interim president and chief executive when Larry Roberts stepped down as CEO last November.
“Anything where I’m challenged or learning something, I’m there,” she told the Business Journal. “Going into the unknown got me excited.”
Hollandsworth spent the next five months leading the company with new responsibilities, including tackling her first earnings call with analysts, leading 4,000 employees and reporting to the executive board.
As interim, she also led the creation of the company’s annual operating plan and exceeded expectations for the first quarter of 2024, according to executives.
System-wide comparable restaurant sales for the first quarter increased by 5.1% and total revenue was up 1.5% to $116 million (Nasdaq: LOCO).
When Liz Williams, a former executive at Irvine-based Taco Bell, was appointed as the chain’s new CEO in March, Hollandsworth stayed as president.
Hollandsworth was one of five honorees at the Business Journal’s Women in Business Awards on Oct. 30 at the Irvine Marriott.
From Public Health to Restaurants
Hollandsworth was born and raised in the Philippines thinking she would become a doctor.
Her father had encouraged her to pursue an education and career in the medical field.
Before moving to the United States with her siblings, Hollandsworth was in her final year at University of the Philippines completing a bachelor’s degree in public health. She was writing a thesis on emergency room service and realized after spending several nights observing at the hospital that it wasn’t what she wanted to do.
Hollandsworth’s first job in the U.S. was as a cook at Carl’s Jr. She later transferred to a Jack in the Box restaurant, where she began focusing on restaurant operations.
“I was moving very fast,” she said of entering one management role after another.
She eventually decided to get her master’s.
For two years, “I was a general manager running two to three restaurants taking this executive MBA, and I was in training. My life was all about school, work, home.”
Hollandsworth spent over 20 years with Jack in the Box and said because of her experience, she has hit the ground running at each new role since.
Starting in the kitchen and climbing to vice president of strategic initiatives and operations services, she learned how to find and develop talent, build teams, communicate with franchisees and execute growth and improvement initiatives while growing in scale.
It’s what led Dunkin’ to approach her in 2019. Hollandsworth was hired as regional vice president of development, construction and operations in charge of the West Coast, a key position as the East Coast doughnut chain sought to grow its footprint out here.
“It gave me the confidence and the skill set at a higher level on how to interact with franchisees and work with a big company,” she said.
When Dunkin’ was acquired by Inspire Brands in 2020, her network expanded even more.
Becoming an Operations Powerhouse
When El Pollo Loco offered her the role of COO in 2022, Hollandsworth knew she would regret not accepting.
“This would be my first time at this level and as the person responsible for the entire operation,” she said.
Hollandsworth was quick to establish expectations for her first quarter in charge.
“I started saying I want us to be an operations powerhouse, meaning we are the experts in running our restaurants,” she said.
El Pollo Loco currently counts 490 company-owned and franchised locations and expects to end the year with 500.
“We’re preparing ourselves to grow,” she added. “We’re making sure our restaurants run well and that we stay healthy.”
Looking back, Hollandsworth said she has stuck to operations roles because since the beginning, it was interacting with the people that she enjoyed the most.
“I think because I started as an hourly employee, I can see myself, even to this day, talking about, ‘How do you create a good schedule? How do you filter the fryer?’” she said.
“You could be my grill master, or you could be a manager on supply chain, and we would have the same level ease of conversation.”
