Fogo de Chão Expands to West Covina for 13th SoCal Unit

Southern California Push

Fogo de Chão, the Brazilian churrascaria chain, has opened a new restaurant in West Covina, California, near Eastland Center, bringing its Southern California unit count to 13. The opening extends a steady regional expansion for the brand, which has made California one of its most concentrated U.S. markets.

Southern California represents a high-stakes arena for full-service dining operators. The region's dense population, tourism traffic, and above-average household incomes make it an attractive — and fiercely contested — territory for upscale casual and experiential dining concepts. Fogo de Chão's churrasco format, in which tableside servers deliver continuously carved meats, commands an average check well above typical casual dining, positioning it squarely in the premium segment alongside competitors such as Texas de Brazil and independent steakhouse operators.

Market Context

The West Covina opening is consistent with a broader industry pattern in which established full-service chains have targeted suburban trade areas adjacent to major retail anchors. Proximity to Eastland Center provides the brand with built-in foot traffic from a recognized shopping destination in the San Gabriel Valley, a submarket with a large and diverse consumer base.

For the foodservice industry, Fogo de Chão's continued California investment signals confidence in experiential dining demand despite persistent cost pressures — including elevated food costs and California's $20-per-hour minimum wage for fast-food workers, a policy that has kept labor economics in focus for all restaurant operators across the state. Full-service concepts with higher ticket averages have generally shown more resilience on the labor-cost line than quick-service peers, though margin management remains a central concern.

Expansion Trajectory

Fogo de Chão has grown its domestic footprint aggressively since its acquisition by Bradesco Seguros and subsequent expansion under private equity ownership. The brand now operates locations across dozens of U.S. markets, with California representing one of its most penetrated states. Adding a 13th Southern California unit suggests the brand still sees white space in the region, particularly in suburban nodes that may have been underserved by its earlier urban-anchored strategy.

Operators and real estate analysts tracking the full-service restaurant sector have noted that premium chains with differentiated formats — theatrical service models, diverse menu platforms, or strong group-dining appeal — have outperformed the broader casual dining segment on same-store sales trends. Fogo de Chão's all-you-can-eat meat service combined with an expanded bar and marketplace offering has helped the brand attract both celebratory dining occasions and corporate group business, two daypart categories that support higher average checks. For more on expansion strategies shaping the foodservice industry landscape, coverage continues across the F&B Network.

Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.