Taste of Peru

Colca’s Chicken Brings Bold Flavor to Lynchburg

By: Jeremy Angione | Photos By: Ashlee Glen

Despite Lynchburg’s small-town vibe, it’s home to many diverse, cultural food experiences. One of the newest additions is Colca’s Chicken,
a family owned and operated restaurant that opened in July 2024. Colca’s is a celebration of Peruvian culture and cuisine.

Manager and co-owner Andre Bickford says that Colca’s mission is, “to deliver the best authentic, fresh, healthy, and delicious tasting Peruvian food to Lynchburg for people to taste Peru when they taste our restaurant and just give them an amazing experience, not just with the food.”

Colca’s is a hybrid restaurant with fast casual elements such as Peruvian ingredients to build a custom meal, or more curated meals that are cooked to order.

According to Bickford, the name Colca refers to a valley region in Peru, which is home to the chicken dishes that inspire Colca’s recipes. He says that, as the name suggests, chicken is the main draw and focus of the menu.

“It’s Peruvian chicken—it’s not chicken from Peru, but the way we prepare it is Peruvian. We marinate it for 24 hours in this special secret recipe marinade with a lot of stuff in it. And then we grill it in our charcoal fire oven from Peru. So the oven, we actually bought it from Peru and they shipped it up to us,” Bickford said.

Additionally, there’s a variety of freshly prepared Peruvian meats, housemade sauces, drinks, and desserts.

My order—a pork belly rice bowl, empanadas, sweet plantains, and a golden can of Inca Kola—barely scratched the surface of what Colca’s has to offer.
Colca’s Chicken sits in the heart of Greenview Drive, across from the Cornerstone apartments. Inside is a large, well lit space. The walls are painted with brightly colored murals that picture scenes and symbols of Peru. Even the Peruvian music playing helps to elevate the atmosphere beyond a simple restaurant theme, to what we often dub as an authentic experience.

According to Bickford, Lynchburg has been loving what Colca’s has to offer the area. Event catering has been a pillar of the business, giving Colca’s a real reach into the community with its message and mission, communicated through real, crafted, and cultural food.

Bickford and his family are confident in the continued success of Colca’s Chicken. Their hope is to expand into future locations, potentially in Roanoke or Charlottesville. According to Bickford, a second chicken oven has been ordered for a potential second location.