Q COSTA RICA BUSINESS – Costa Ricans love chicken. And to feed the hunger, KFC in Costa Rica has announced that it will invest US$5 million this year in the opening of two new restaurants, three local self-service branches and the remodeling of existing ones.
The company’s plans include the full remodel of the branches on Avenida 3 and Calle 1 in heart of San Jose, as the the former U.S. Embassy location a few blocks away and the branches in Cartago, Tibás and Playa Jacó.
Of the new locations, one will be in the Greater Metropolitan Area and one outside it. The company did not disclose their location just yet.
Elfinancierocr.com reports that “…The three new self-service branches will be in Liberia (Guanacaste), San Antonio de Coronado and Sabanilla.”
To staff the new locations, KFC will be hiring 90 people. (If you are interested in working KFC in Costa Rica, send your resume to reclutamiento@kfccostarica.com).
“We are grateful for the preference of Costa Ricans, offering the best fresh and juicy chicken that has positioned us over the years as one of the best restaurants in the country, so we see great potential to continue growth in many places”, said Isidro Perera, general manager of KFC Costa Rica.
KFC arrived in Costa Rica in 1970, opening its first store on Paseo Colon, several blocks west of the downtown core.
Worldwide, KFC operates almost 20,000 locations in 123 countries and territories as of December 2015. The chain is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands. PepsiCo spun off its restaurants division as Tricon Global Restaurants, which later changed its name to Yum! Brands, a restaurant company that also owns the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains.
Kentucky Fried Chicken was founded by Colonel Harland Sanders, an entrepreneur who began selling fried chicken from his roadside restaurant in Corbin, Kentucky during the Great Depression. Sanders identified the potential of the restaurant franchising concept, and the first “Kentucky Fried Chicken” franchise opened in Utah in 1952.
