THE SUN BY JIM STEINBERG

December 30, 2003 - Business

Juan Pollo owner Albert Okura has launched a new promotional bobble toy just in time for the holidays.

First there was the Baby Juan Doll. Then there was a companion, Miss Juan Pollo. Last year there was a Baby Chick Egg doll. But no static dolls this year.

San Bernardino Entrepreneur Albert Okura wants to catch the bobblehead collectable doll craze. This year, it's a mature Juan Pollo chicken sitting on a large egg. Behind him is a rotisserie with three chickens cooking on the spit. The chickens can be hand turned. The stand on which Juan and the cooking chickens rest is outlined with 20 small chicken eggs, five on each side. They symbolize the 20-year anniversary of the Juan Pollo chain, which began with a single store at 1702 S. Euclid Ave, in Ontario on Jan. 7, 1984. "I want to cash in on the trend," Okura said. But the owner of the 27-store Juan Pollo restaurant chain won't be making a killing on the sale of these colorful ceramic bobbleheads. The $5 selling cost won't quite cover the cost of manufacturing and shipping, Okura said. But the sale of a collectible Juan Pollo momento around Christmas has been a tradition for a number of years. Okura wants to create a legacy of collectibles surrounding his growing chain of Southern California restaurants. This year's Juan Pollo bobblehead was designed by Jack Marcus, who has done work for Okura for years, as well as other Southern California businesses.

Next year Marcus said he will be working on a feminine companion to the Juan Pollo Bobblehead. This year Okura expects to have sold some 2 million chickens from his chain, which includes outlets in San Bernardino, Bloomington, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Redlands and Upland.