El Pollo Loco Appoints Damon Thomas as Chief Operating Officer

What Happened
El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (LOCO) filed an 8-K on Sept. 25, 2026, announcing the appointment of Damon Thomas as Chief Operating Officer, effective September 21, 2026. Mr. Thomas, age 49, will report to CEO Elizabeth “Liz” Williams and joins from Shake Shack Enterprises, where he served as Senior Vice President, Operations (Aug. 2023–Sept. 2026). His prior operations roles include Vice President, Operations at Yoshinoya America and senior positions at Quest Food Management Services and Raising Cane’s.

Key Details

• Base salary: $425,000 per year.
• Target cash bonus: 75% of base salary; minimum bonus for 2026 is $225,000.
• Equity and sign-on: eligible for ~ $400,000 annual equity awards beginning 2027 (3-year vesting), plus a one-time time‑based restricted stock and performance share unit grant valued at ~ $500,000 (subject to vesting and performance) and a $25,000 sign-on bonus.
• Severance: generally 12 months of continued base salary if terminated without cause or resigns for good reason, conditioned on a release of claims and compliance with offer terms.
• No related‑party transactions or family relationships disclosed; full offer letter to be filed as an exhibit to the Company’s next Form 10-Q.

Why It Matters
This is a material executive leadership change reported under Item 5.02: the company has placed a seasoned restaurant operations executive in a key role responsible for executing and scaling operations. Compensation provisions (base pay, cash bonus, equity awards and severance) are structured to align Mr. Thomas’s incentives with performance and retention, which investors may view in assessing management stability and operational focus.