Mr. Pollo opens second location in Pace, with potential for more locations down the road

Pensacola fan-favorite Mr. Pollo has expanded its charcoal chicken empire with a new Pace location at 4275 Woodbine Road.

The brand-new Pace store carries the same Venezuelan-inspired menu that Pensacola has fallen in love with, but with three times the seating as the original location along with the new addition of a bar and patio dining area.

Now with Perfect Plain and Pensacola Bay beer on tap, co-owners Eduardo Arraez and Maria Rodriguez are inviting customers in to stay awhile. The two have a mission of making their customers feel at home.

How did Mr. Pollo get started? Mr. Pollo Pensacola now open, serving slow roasted charcoal chicken on North Ninth Avenue

Mr. Pollo makes Yelp's top 100: Mr. Pollo Pensacola makes Yelp's top 100 restaurants to try in 2020

“Every time I came in this side of town (in Pace) — it was hard to find a place where you feel like home, where you can have comfort food. That’s my passion, to provide people with that. So, I found this community to be great, and here we are,” Arraez said.

The owners hold their food to the highest standard due to their Venezuelan roots and make everything from scratch, from the garlic cilantro sauce to the melt-in-your-mouth grilled plantains. None of that is changing with the larger location.

“The sauces, the dressings for the salads, for the chicken, the mashed potatoes … all that,” Arraez said.

Even though it’s a lot of hard work, its paying off. Not even a year after opening their first location at 6404 N. Ninth Ave. in 2019, Mr. Pollo earned a place on Yelp’s top 100 restaurant list.

“I never expected this. I’m very thankful for it, thankful for the town, Pensacola, now for Pace. We never expected to grow like this,” Arraez said. “It feels really good when you have customers tell you, ‘This is like home’… when you hear people say that it’s worth it to spend the time and effort. It’s not easy. But when you see that kind of response, it’s worth it.”

The Pace restaurant will still operate in the counter-style service that Pensacola regulars are used to, where they will walk up, place an order, take a number, and pick a seat where the food will be brought out to them.

Customers can order the famed chicken by the whole to share, or in smaller size increments, such as by the half or quarter.

The simple menu has been leaving a mark on its customers since.

“When they brought it out, I thought there was no way I could eat all of that. Then I did,” customer Jacob Singleton said of his first-time eating at Mr. Pollo on Friday. “(The meal) had impeccable flavor.”

The irresistible flavor that has Mr. Pollo’s line out the door 15 minutes after opening is no coincidence.

“We brine the chicken for four or five days before we put it into the oven,” Arraez said. “It’s a charcoal oven … those are the main two components.”

Customers can find comfort in snagging a quick, homestyle lunch on one of the window barstools or enjoy the meal family-style on the group bench seats.

Arraez said he never anticipated that the restaurant would grow like it has, but now feels the sky is the limit.

“It’s funny because when we started it was just like a hobby, I will say. Something I always wants wanted to do, and it turned out to be a real business. I never thought of having another one, now I’m thinking of three or four or five,” Arraez said.

Mr. Pollo’s Pace location is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day,

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Mr. Pollo Pensacola opens second location on Woodbine Road in Pace