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254:, located on Route 66, for $ 425,000. Okura's plans include improvements for tourists interested in and traveling along the highway and building a museum. He reopened the gas station in 2008, after $ 100,000 worth of renovations to the building housing the gas station, diner, and café. Counting on the traffic from a renewed interest in traveling Route 66, the gas station is stocked with candy and souvenirs.
206:. This location would become the first location for his restaurant. With Armando Parra, the creator of the recipe of Juan polle who grew up in an area of Chihuahua, Mexico where rotisserie chicken restaurants are popular, Okura looked into opening the restaurant. However, Parra told Okura the restaurant was not big enough for the grills and suggested rotisserie cooking instead.
148:, which is located along Route 66. The corporate headquarters for the Juan Pollo chain now sits on the original location of the first McDonald's restaurant where Okura created and hosted a museum, preserving artifacts and memorabilia about the landmark.
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The first location opened in
January 1984. Sales were initially modest, but it wasn't until the opening of the chain's second location in 1986 that became popular, due in large part to a food review written by Norman Baffry, a food critic for
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opened near him. At the time El Pollo Loco was a new char-broiled
Mexican chicken chain. Okura tried the restaurant and was impressed with the food and the simplicity of its operations and began to investigate opening his own restaurant.
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The San
Bernardino museum is the brainstorm of Albert Okura, a businessman who owns and runs Juan Pollo, a chain of Mexican rotisserie chicken restaurants in Southern California. Okura built the museum as a tribute to Kroc, his longtime
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Juan Pollo hosts an annual
Veteran's Day Parade and Car Show in front of corporate headquarters in San Bernardino and the company has been one of the main toy contributors for the annual Christmas toy give away in the city.
247:, had been demolished, but Okura recognized the property and moved his corporate headquarters to the site, which he described as "destiny." He also opened an unofficial McDonald's museum next to his headquarters.
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Okura's uncle initially invested in his idea to open a restaurant and made Okura aware of a restaurant location in a shopping mall he owned in
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Okura and his wife, the former Sella Oei, had three children. In 2014, he self-published his autobiography
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132:(December 3, 1951 – January 27, 2023) was an American businessman who was the founder and CEO of the
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in 1948, which was being foreclosed on in 1998 for the sum of $ 135,000. The restaurant, located in
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As of 2023, there are 25 Juan Pollo locations in
Southern California, most of them in the
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507:"The Chicken Man with the 50 Year Plan: Albert Okura and Fast Food History"
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446:"Albert Okura, 71, 'Chicken Man' Who Preserved a Ghost Town on Route 66"
140:. He was also a philanthropist and was active in the revitalization of
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in 1970, which led to managerial positions in the chain as well as
479:"Albert Okura, Juan Pollo founder and San Bernardino staple, dies"
645:"A look at Juan Pollo founder Albert Okura's success, big dreams"
381:"SAN BERNARDINO: McDonald's museum pays homage to the hamburger"
178:, and ultimately founding his own Mexican-influenced chicken
598:"Veterans Day parade and car show highlights a new mural"
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section of Los
Angeles. His first full-time job was with
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620:"Boy and Girls Christmas toy giveaway serves 700 kids"
404:"A Loving Shrine to McDonald's That McDonald's Shuns"
269:After a series of health problems, Okura died from
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530:Albert Okura The Chicken Man: With a 50 Year Plan
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264:Albert Okura: The Chicken Man with a 50 Year Plan
555:"This Chicken Will Wing Its Way Into Your Heart"
352:"Entrepreneur channels San Bernardino's history"
235:Okura purchased the location of the original
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250:In addition, in 2005 he bought the town of
715:American food industry business executives
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277:, on January 27, 2023, at the age of 71.
730:Deaths from sepsis in the United States
567:from the original on September 22, 2014
383:. The Press-Enterprise. August 13, 2014
332:. The San Bernardino Sun. April 9, 2009
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185:In 1981, while working for Del Taco in
144:. In 2005, Okura purchased the town of
532:. LCM Publishing CO. pp. 63–103.
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647:. San Bernardino Sun. August 17, 2014
477:Whitehead, Brian (January 28, 2023).
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705:21st-century American businesspeople
700:20th-century American businesspeople
740:People from Wilmington, Los Angeles
720:American people of Japanese descent
553:Baffrey, Norman (August 3, 1986).
443:Roberts, Sam (February 10, 2023).
402:Martin, Hugo (November 26, 2004).
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354:. Marketplace.org. Archived from
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18:American businessman (1951–2023)
725:Businesspeople from Los Angeles
156:Okura, a third-generation (or
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560:The San Bernardino County Sun
509:. KCET.org. September 5, 2012
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245:San Bernardino, California
166:, was born in 1951 in the
600:. Highland Community News
735:Fast-food chain founders
710:American autobiographers
299:"Destiny in the desert"
258:Personal life and death
45:Los Angeles, California
528:Okura, Robert (2011).
483:Orange County Register
239:restaurant, opened by
213:The San Bernardino Sun
241:Dick and Mac McDonald
671:endless-magazine.com
231:Route 66 restoration
136:restaurant chain in
625:. El Chicano Weekly
358:on December 5, 2014
330:"A man with a plan"
275:Ontario, California
204:Ontario, California
138:Southern California
64:Ontario, California
563:. San Bernardino.
452:The New York Times
305:. January 17, 2007
409:Los Angeles Times
303:Los Angeles Times
252:Amboy, California
164:Japanese American
146:Amboy, California
142:Historic Route 66
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130:Albert Okura
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104:philanthropy
58:(2023-01-27)
25:Albert Okura
15:
695:2023 deaths
690:1951 births
488:January 28,
172:Burger King
78:Businessman
72:Occupations
684:Categories
651:August 24,
629:August 24,
604:August 24,
571:August 24,
513:August 24,
387:August 24,
362:August 24,
336:August 24,
309:August 24,
281:References
237:McDonald's
198:Juan Pollo
180:rotisserie
168:Wilmington
152:Early life
134:Juan Pollo
97:Juan Pollo
37:1951-12-03
115:Sella Oei
95:Founding
565:Archived
176:Del Taco
120:Children
102:Route 66
182:chain.
536:
271:sepsis
187:Carson
159:sansei
112:Spouse
66:, U.S.
47:, U.S.
623:(PDF)
422:hero.
189:, an
653:2014
631:2014
606:2014
573:2014
534:ISBN
515:2014
490:2023
461:2023
417:2014
389:2014
364:2014
338:2014
311:2014
53:Died
31:Born
273:in
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