VIVA Chicken, a fast-casual Peruvian chicken chain, launched in Charlotte and has expanded to 16 … [+] locations. Pictured is the location in Greenville, SC

You would expect VIVA Chicken, a fast-casual Peruvian chicken chain, to be based in an urban center with a large Latino population like Miami, or maybe Los Angeles or New York, but not Charlotte, NC. But you’d be wrong since VIVA Chicken is was launched in Charlotte, whose Latino population is about 10%.

Co-founder Bruno Machiavello, originally from Peru, came to Charlotte because his brother resided there, and Machiavello got a job as a chef in 1985 at George Couchell’s Showmars, a quick-service fried chicken restaurant. Couchell took Machiavello under his wing, showed him how to lead a restaurant team and prepare exceptional food.

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Since then, it has expanded to 16 restaurants in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Utah. All are owned by the company; none are franchised.

A Peruvian fast-casual chicken chain, VIVA Chicken, has found a private equity partner that favors slow growth and has expanded into four states, with more on the way.

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