Pollo Campero restaurant opened today at 45 Newport Ave. in East Providence. It is the first in Rhode Island and the 55th in the U.S.

It is known for its pressure-cooked, grilled and fried chicken and Latin side dishes including beans, rice, yucca fries and sweet plantains. Latin flavored drinks include horchata, made from nuts, cinnamon and rice, and tamarindo, made with fresh tamarind fruit. French fries and mashed potatoes are also on the menu.

The fast food restaurant is the world's largest Latin American chicken restaurant chain and Guatemalan-based. The East Providence restaurant is owned by Chair 5, a Wellesley, Mass.-based restaurant corporation who holds local franchise rights.

Pollo Campero is a family dining restaurant chain that offers a choice of sit-down table service, take-out, drive-thru and delivery services. A staff ambassador - as opposed to a waiter - visits each table personally to welcome guests, offer condiments, and serve after-dinner mints.

Pollo Campero, which means "chicken from the country", has developed a following and after opening in Chelsea, Mass. experienced lines that required street closings due to the number of customers trying to get a taste of the chicken.

Founded in 1971 by the Gutierrez family in Guatemala, Pollo Campero opened its first United States restaurant in Los Angeles in April 2002. Campero USA Corporation headquarters are in Dallas, Texas.