Ray Perry

A veteran Southland fast-food executive has been hired as chief operating officer of El Pollo Loco's chain of Mexican-style chicken takeout restaurants. Ray Perry, formerly executive vice president of Carl Karcher Enterprises and more recently president of a coffeehouse chain, started work June 1 for El Pollo Loco at its Irvine headquarters, the company announced Tuesday. He also became senior vice president of its parent company, Flagstar Companies Inc. in Spartanburg, S.C.

There have been two amazing comebacks the past two days at Jacobs Field--by the Cleveland Indians and Herbert Perry. Perry, whose injured knees forced him out of baseball for nearly two years, drove in four runs Saturday as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays protected their lead this time in a 7-6 victory over the Indians at Cleveland. Perry, recalled earlier this week when Wade Boggs went on the disabled list, is making the most of his return to the big leagues.

Ray Perry Joins El Pollo Loco as Chief Operating Officer: Perry, 51, formerly executive vice president of Carl Karcher Enterprises and, more recently, president of a coffeehouse chain, started work June 1 for the chain of Mexican-style chicken take-out restaurants at its Irvine headquarters, the company announced. He also became senior vice president of its parent company, Flagstar Companies Inc., in Spartanburg, S.C. He succeeds James M. Verney, who resigned from both posts in December.

Ray Perry Joins El Pollo Loco as Chief Operating Officer: Perry, 51, formerly executive vice president of Carl Karcher Enterprises and, more recently, president of a coffeehouse chain, started work June 1 for the chain of Mexican-style chicken take-out restaurants at its Irvine headquarters, the company announced. He also became senior vice president of its parent company, Flagstar Companies Inc., in Spartanburg, S.C. He succeeds James M. Verney, who resigned from both posts in December.

The former executive vice president of Carl Karcher Enterprises in Anaheim, Ray Perry, has acquired a majority ownership stake in Kelly's Enterprises, an Irvine-based chain of coffeehouses. Kelly's Enterprises operates 20 franchised Kelly's Coffee & Fudge Factory stores. Perry will not say how much he invested in the chain, but he sold 58,000 shares of Karcher stock during the past six weeks at about $9 a share, garnering more than $500,000 from the transactions.

As firings go, Ray Perry hardly had time to cry in his coffee when he was suddenly dismissed two years ago as executive vice president of the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain. Other fast-food chains expressed an interest in hiring Perry, who had overseen the quick expansion of Anaheim-based Carl Karcher Enterprises. And he could afford to be picky, since he had amassed considerable retirement money and stock that could see him through unemployment. But Perry didn't want to move his family out of California.

There have been two amazing comebacks the past two days at Jacobs Field--by the Cleveland Indians and Herbert Perry. Perry, whose injured knees forced him out of baseball for nearly two years, drove in four runs Saturday as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays protected their lead this time in a 7-6 victory over the Indians at Cleveland. Perry, recalled earlier this week when Wade Boggs went on the disabled list, is making the most of his return to the big leagues.

Sweet Success: El Pollo Loco announced recently that September's year-to-date sales per unit rose by 12.8%, well above the 6.8% average increase registered during previous months. Chief Operating Officer Ray Perry linked the increase to the introduction of El Pollo Loco's new barbecued chicken menu items. "We have had such success with new products over the past year, we were confident something as divergent from our traditional menu as barbecued chicken would work," Perry said.

UC San Diego beat previously undefeated Nazareth College of New York, 89-85, in a nonconference men's basketball game Monday. John Saintignon led all scorers with 28 points for UCSD (7-4). Greg Kamansky added 24 for the Tritons, who took a 41-39 halftime lead. Ray Perry paced Nazareth with 23 points. The Golden Eagles (7-1) were regarded as one of the country's best Division III teams.

A veteran Southland fast-food executive has been hired as chief operating officer of El Pollo Loco's chain of Mexican-style chicken takeout restaurants. Ray Perry, formerly executive vice president of Carl Karcher Enterprises and more recently president of a coffeehouse chain, started work June 1 for El Pollo Loco at its Irvine headquarters, the company announced Tuesday. He also became senior vice president of its parent company, Flagstar Companies Inc. in Spartanburg, S.C.

As firings go, Ray Perry hardly had time to cry in his coffee when he was suddenly dismissed two years ago as executive vice president of the Carl's Jr. hamburger chain. Other fast-food chains expressed an interest in hiring Perry, who had overseen the quick expansion of Anaheim-based Carl Karcher Enterprises. And he could afford to be picky, since he had amassed considerable retirement money and stock that could see him through unemployment. But Perry didn't want to move his family out of California.

The former executive vice president of Carl Karcher Enterprises in Anaheim, Ray Perry, has acquired a majority ownership stake in Kelly's Enterprises, an Irvine-based chain of coffeehouses. Kelly's Enterprises operates 20 franchised Kelly's Coffee & Fudge Factory stores. Perry will not say how much he invested in the chain, but he sold 58,000 shares of Karcher stock during the past six weeks at about $9 a share, garnering more than $500,000 from the transactions.

Top Cooks: El Pollo Loco has presented checks totaling $3,500 to six finalists in the Irvine-based restaurant chain's annual Chicken Challenge cook-off. Cooks represented restaurants in four states and Mexico. "This is more than a test of speed and quality," said Ray Perry, president of El Pollo Loco. "These cooks take pride in their work comparable to the chefs at many fine restaurants." One Orange County chicken cook placed in the top six.

Six union pickets pleaded guilty in Las Vegas on Tuesday to the videotaped beating of a Moorpark couple outside Las Vegas' Frontier Hotel in April. In a plea-bargain, the six pleaded guilty to misdemeanors in exchange for having felony charges against them dropped, said Clarke County Deputy Dist. Atty. Ulrich Smith. A seventh picket--Dennis Ray James--did not show up for the scheduled arraignment. He has one more week to turn himself in, Smith said.