"Okura was raised in Wilmington, California, an industrial town in the Harbor area of southern Los Angeles. His father had been a semi-professional baseball player, but during World War II, while serving in the U.S. Army, he and his wife were transported to a Japanese-American internment camp. However, Okura's parents did not become embittered toward America and instead instilled in their four children the ideal of the American dream."
"After dropping out of college, Okura wasn't sure he wanted to stay in the fast food business, but then in 1983, destiny called when his uncle offered him a vacant restaurant in a shopping center. His brother-in-law Armando Parra created the marinade for a Hispanic-style rotisserie chicken, and Okura opened his first Juan Pollo fast-food restaurant the following year. Competitor El Pollo Loco has always attracted lower-income families, but Juan Pollo's chicken appealed most to the Hispanic communities."
Albert Okura grew up in Wilmington, California, where his parents, having been sent to a Japanese‑American internment camp during World War II, instilled the ideals of the American dream in their four children. Okura worked at Burger King for $1.35 per hour and rose to a management offer. In 1983 an uncle provided a vacant restaurant, and Okura, with a marinade created by brother‑in‑law Armando Parra, opened the first Juan Pollo in 1984. The chain expanded to 25 Southern California locations over two decades, appealing particularly to Hispanic communities. Okura later acquired the original McDonald's site in San Bernardino, linking his business to Route 66 history.
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