New Restaurant Opens Today in Herndon

Looking for a good place to have lunch or dinner today?

You might want to stop by one of Herndon's newest restaurants, which opens its doors for the first time today, Saturday, Nov. 8, at 10:30 a.m.

Pollo Peru is located at 1015 Dranesville Road, the sibling of the location at 1675 Reston Parkway in Reston's Home Depot Shopping Center.

READ: From Family Recipe to Family Business

Enrique Lenz and his daughter Amy Gedrich opened the Reston location in June of 2011, and it's become so popular that they decided to open their second location in Herndon, and they couldn't be happier to be here, Lenz said.

Lenz, who moved to Northern Virginia from Peru in the 80s to get his master's degree from George Mason University, owned his own defense contracting business for more than a decade, but as the company's number of contracts started shrinking, he knew it was time to think about a change, and decided to take his secret family chicken recipe and turn it into a family business.

Lenz said the gastronomy of Peru is enjoying a big boom worldwide right now, but is only just starting to hit the U.S., and people are loving it.

He said, if you're a fan of Peruvian chicken and other dishes, you'll especially be a fan of what they serve at Pollo Peru.

The key is the secret family recipe of 25 different spices, and the timing, he said.

"We put a lot of effort into the seasonings and marinades we use," he said, describing many of the imported products they have shipped over from Peru. "We put a lot of work into it, making sure our chicken is unique."

At Pollo Peru, customers order their food either for here or to go, and are given a number. Then they can enjoy their food at one of the dining room's tables or take it with them.

Regardless, Lenz said—it may be fast, but it's not fast food, and they take special care to time everyone's order just right so it comes hot and fresh right out of the oven and onto their plates.

"The timing is critical, because this chicken tastes so great when it comes hot right out of the oven," he said, insisting that they never serve any chicken that has been sitting in the oven for too long.

"Whether you eat at 10:30, 12, 3:30, 5 or 8—we make sure your chicken tastes the same, and it's fresh out of the oven," he added.

Pollo Peru's menu offers quarter-chickens, half-chickens or whole chickens, with a selection of sides including yucca, plantains, rice and beans, sweet potato fries, salad and more. They also offer sandwiches and a few desserts like rice pudding, bread pudding, tres leches cake, chocolate cake and alfajor cookies.


Pollo Peru is located at 1015 Dranesville Road in Herndon. Visit http://polloperu.com or call 703-429-4672.


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