Whatever Happened To Project Pollo After Shark Tank?

Awareness around plant-based dieting has grown in recent years, but it's still not a lifestyle that many can see themselves adapting to. Lucas Bradbury aimed to change this notion with his vegan fast food restaurant, Project Pollo. The line of Texas-based eateries served an array of sandwiches, nuggets, milkshakes, burgers, and other fast food items all made from plant-based ingredients. By advertising the company as Project Pollo, Bradbury hoped to draw customers in who might presume that the restaurant is a traditional chicken joint before informing them of their true nature, with the offer to even pay for the first meals of their more skeptical clientele. 

As Bradbury explained on "Shark Tank," the Project Pollo founder got his start in the food industry while working as a delivery driver for Pizza Hut in college, where he quickly leveled up in the company. Later on, Bradbury, who had switched to a vegetarian lifestyle, got the opportunity to open a vegan chicken food truck in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic as a way of drumming up business at a friend's bar. The concept quickly gained traction, and Bradbury saw the opportunity to scale. Within two years of operating the food truck, Project Pollo had 12 brick and mortar throughout Texas.

The company's rapid growth caught the attention of "Shark Tank" producers, who offered Bradbury the opportunity to pitch on the show. Despite being in a good place financially, the entrepreneur realized the opportunity that the additional exposure and feedback could provide. 

Lucas Bradbury showcased exceptional growth with Project Pollo prior to appearing on the "Shark Tank" Season 13 finale that aired on May 2022. But even then, his request for a $2.5 million investment for 5% equity stake — which equated to a $50 million valuation — was asking for a mighty big bite from the money-hungry investors. 

Even if the sharks weren't fans of Bradbury's valuation, they thoroughly enjoyed his food. Mr. Wonderful himself, Kevin O'Leary, even called it the best fake chicken he'd ever had. Bradbury explained Project Pollo's backstory and his aim to prioritize scaling the business above all else. The company had brought in $10 million in lifetime sales, with plans to hit $6 or $7 million by year's end. They began seeing notable growth when their first official brick and mortar location opened up in Austin, Texas, where they started at $10,000 in sales a week before growing to $23,000 a week within three months. Bradbury said that he owes their scalability to the great deals he received on locations during the pandemic. Additionally, he envisioned opening 18 new locations in the following year. 

Ultimately, the sharks didn't feel comfortable with investing. While most commented on the astronomical valuation, the company's rapid expansion raised some red flags, with Barbara Corcoran comparing Project Pollo to Season 4's Tom and Chee, who went bankrupt going down a similar path. Bradbury made a few attempts to see if the investors were willing to make a counteroffer, but they didn't go for it, and he left without a deal. 

Lucas Bradbury came into "Shark Tank" with good intentions, but the sharks were ultimately not on board with his company's risky growth rate. Risks can always pay off, but in the case of Project Pollo, the sharks were seemingly right in their assumptions.

Following his time on the show, Bradbury dedicated time to ensuring his cards were in place before proceeding with the company's aggressive expansion efforts. This included adding various vice president positions and even bringing former McDonald's and Chipotle executives to their team. During this time, the business was experiencing the "Shark Tank" effect with upwards of 300 daily inquiries coming its way regarding franchising. Not only did this result in several new locations, but Bradbury even opened a new chain in February called Side Chicks, which served both plant-based and real chicken items. The reception to this was mixed, with many seeing the move as contradictory to Project Pollo's initial mission of providing sustainably sourced fast food. 

It wouldn't take long for the growth to start having some adverse effects. Several of Project Pollo's planned locations either had their openings delayed or taken off the slate entirely to focus on improving their current locations. This later extended to some existing restaurants even getting shut down. In April, the company was acquired by an unnamed national franchise group, and a vast majority of their locations were to be shut down soon after. Many were left confused by the announcement, unsure if it meant Project Pollo was being closed down or if it was under new management.

Unfortunately, it seems that Project Pollo is no longer in business. As of September 2024, it seems that all their locations have been closed down, including Pollo's sister chain, Side Chicks. While the team previously claimed that their Round Rock location and their Austin site on Rosewood Avenue would remain open no matter what, reviews on Yelp indicate that both locations have indeed shut their doors.

As of this writing, Project Pollo's website  has been shut down, while their Facebook hasn't been updated since April 2023 — the same time as the acquisition — and their Instagram account is no longer active and has no remaining posts. For the final nail in the coffin, over on LinkedIn, founder Lucas Bradley lists his time as Project Pollo's CEO as running from September 2020 to September 2023, which seems to pretty strongly indicate that vegan restaurant is no more. Instead, Bradley now lists himself as the president of Houston Street Hospitality and the founder of an organization called Sprouted Venture, which is dedicated to serving as an "early-stage investment group dedicated to fostering innovation in green, sustainable, and environmentally focused startups, with a special emphasis on the hospitality industry."

Lucas Bradbury's plan to dominate the market with Project Pollo might have seemed admirably ambitious at first, but it ultimately left the company in a rough place. Such rapid scalability is a rare and potentially valuable trait to bring to "Shark Tank." But the lack of a solid foundation resulted in a never-ending game of catch up, which left the team with little to show for their hard work.  

Prior to the acquisition, Project Pollo sought to explore new avenues in its efforts to expand. At one point, the team asked their followers on Instagram how much they'd be willing to pay for frozen popcorn chicken, indicating that the company was looking to break into retail. Then pre-orders opened up for original, spicy, and gluten-free varieties of chicken nuggets that came in three packs containing upwards of 18 nuggets in total. It was stated that orders would roll out on April 15, 2023, but after the company was purchased, no news on the status of these orders was revealed. 

Bradbury had visions of the restaurant moving beyond Texas. He aimed to see the chain hit cities such as Atlanta, Miami, Nashville, and Tampa, with hopes to have 100 locations by 2025. Their planned openings for Phoenix and Las Vegas were halted when the team chose to slow down operations in late 2022. Unfortunately, it seems like this vegan chicken joint will never fly again and has joined the ranks of "Shark Tank" companies that no longer exist.