Mary Brown's

{{About-distinguish-text|a Canadian fast food chain|Marrybrown, a Malaysian fast food chain}}

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{{Infobox company

| name = Mary Brown's Chicken

| logo = Marybrowns-2021-logo.svg

| image = Mary Brown's Chicken Scarborough (2022).jpg

| image_caption = A Mary Brown's restaurant in Scarborough, Ontario

| type = Private

| foundation = {{start date and age|1969}}

| founders = Pat Tarrant
Cyril Fleming

| location = Markham, Ontario

| num_locations = Approx. 300

| area_served = Canada
United Kingdom
Mexico

| key_people = Gregory Roberts (CEO)

| num_employees = Approx. 3,100

| industry = Casual dining
Fast Food

| revenue =

| parent = MBI Brands{{cite web|url=https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/business/spicing-it-up-fat-bastard-burrito-co-moving-into-mary-browns-downtown-st-johns-location-this-summer-100829714/#:~:text=Mary%20Brown's%20parent%20company%2C%20MBI,last%20summer.&text=%22Mary%20Brown's%20is%20born%20and,Mary%20Brown's%20side.%20...|title=Spicing it up: Fat Bastard Burrito Co. moving into Mary Brown's downtown St. John's location this summer|publisher=Saltwire.com|last=Robinson|first=Andrew|date=March 1, 2023|access-date=November 24, 2024}}

| homepage = http://www.marybrowns.com

}}

File:MaryBrownsHeadquarters.jpg

Mary Brown's Chicken, is a Canadian fast food restaurant with approximately 300 locations across Canada.{{Cite web |title=About Mary Brown |url=https://marybrowns.com/about-us/ |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=Mary Brown's Chicken |language=en-US}} The chain specializes in fried chicken.

History

In 1969, Pat Tarrant and Cyril Fleming purchased rights to open up the first Canadian Golden Skillet fried chicken franchise (originally from Richmond, Virginia) in Newfoundland.{{cite magazine|title=Mary Brown's Famous Chicken & Taters, A Canadian Success Story|url=https://issuu.com/profilemag/docs/celebratingsucces/27|magazine=Profile Magazine|publisher=Modern Empire|access-date=April 2, 2022}} The first location was located in St. John's Avalon Mall. However, Tarrant and Fleming were forced to rename the establishment for legal reasons. It was eventually renamed Mary Brown's Virginia Fried Chicken, after Mary Brown Guthrie (1909–1955),{{cite web |date=August 3, 1955 |title=Obituaries |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98947205/the-progress-index |accessdate=April 2, 2022 |page=13 |newspaper=The Progress-Index |location=Petersburg, Virginia}} the wife of Golden Skillet owner and founder Clifton W. Guthrie.{{cite web |last=Belec |first=Bonnie |date=March 20, 2014 |title=Scratching his way to the top |url=https://www.pressreader.com/canada/the-telegram-st-johns/20140329/282638915546641 |accessdate=April 2, 2022 |publisher=The Telegram |location=}}{{cite web|title=Obituaries|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/10/02/Obituaries/2664370843200/|date=October 2, 1981|publisher=UPI|accessdate=April 2, 2022}} According to the company, Mary Brown, who was from Petersburg, Virginia, was the creator of the chain's proprietary recipe for American Southern-fried chicken, which was sold to Tarrant and Fleming in 1969.{{Cite web|url=https://marybrowns.com/about-us/|title=About Us|website=Mary Brown's Famous Chicken & Taters|language=en-GB|access-date=2022-02-23}}

By 1972, Mary Brown's had grown beyond Newfoundland, opening locations in Oshawa and Mississauga in the Greater Toronto Area. From there, the chain expanded west to Alberta, throughout the remaining Atlantic Provinces, then to Manitoba and Saskatchewan. More recently, Mary Brown's has opened several locations in British Columbia, and a store in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The brand continues to grow across Canada.{{Cite web |title=Mary's Story |url=https://marybrowns.com/marys-story/ |url-status=dead |access-date=2018-01-04 |website=Mary Brown's Famous Chicken & Taters |language=en-GB |archive-date=2017-09-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909005413/https://marybrowns.com/marys-story/ }}(broken link)

In 2022, Mary Brown's acquired Fat Bastard Burrito, a premium burrito chain founded in 2010 in Toronto, Canada,{{Cite web |date=2022-06-16 |title=Mary Brown's Chicken and Fat Bastard Burrito Co. Combine in Canada-based Merger |url=https://www.fermag.com/articles/mary-browns-chicken-and-fat-bastard-burrito-co-combine-in-canada-based-merger/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Foodservice Equipment Reports Magazine |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Mary Brown's buys Fat Bastard Burrito |url=https://strategyonline.ca/2022/06/15/mary-browns-buys-fat-bastard-burrito/ |access-date=2024-11-15}}{{cite news|url=https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/mary-brown-s-chicken-announces-acquisition-of-fat-bastard-burrito-co--876985059.html#:~:text=Fat%20Bastard%20Burrito%20is%20a,in%20Toronto%2C%20Ontario%20in%202010.|title=Mary Brown's Chicken Announces Acquisition of Fat Bastard Burrito Co. Mary Brown's Chicken Logo (CNW Group/Mary Brown's Chicken)|publisher=Newswire|date=2022-06-15|access-date=2024-11-30}} with at least 92 locations throughout Ontario.{{cite web | url=https://chainxy.com/products/fatbastardburrito|title=All Fat Bastard Burrito Co. Locations|publisher=Chain XY|date=2024-10-18|access-date=2024-11-30}} In that same year, Mary Brown's was named Company of The Year by Foodservice and Hospitality Magazine.{{Cite web |last=Ltd |first=Kostuch Media |date=2022-12-06 |title=2022 Company of the Year: Mary Brown's Chicken |url=https://www.foodserviceandhospitality.com/2022-company-of-the-year-mary-browns-chicken/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |website=Foodservice and Hospitality Magazine |language=en-US}}

In 2024, the company opened their first restaurant outside Canada at Lisburn in Northern Ireland exclusively under the abbreviated name MB Chicken; they have opened a second location in Belfast.{{Cite web |last=McCarthy |first=James Martin |date=2024-02-26 |title=We tried the first Mary Brown's Chicken to open outside of Canada |url=https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/tried-first-mary-browns-chicken-28706046 |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=Belfast Live |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2024-03-27 |title=Mary Brown's Chicken, Funstation and new Belfast restaurant Chapter & Verse to open at Odyssey complex this summer |url=https://www.irishnews.com/news/business/mary-browns-chicken-funstation-and-new-belfast-restaurant-chapter-verse-to-open-at-odyssey-complex-this-summer-2EPTEENBERB6ZGIVFDHOFLKKMY/ |access-date=2024-04-03 |website=The Irish News |language=en}} They also intend to open locations in the UK, India, Pakistan, and Mexico in 2024. They plan to open another 300-400 international locations in the next five years.{{Cite web |last=Singer |first= Jessica |date=2024-01-28 | title= Something to cluck about: Mary Brown's opening stores in Pakistan, Mexico, India and Northern Ireland |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/mary-browns-global-1.7095765 |access-date=2024-06-09 |website=CBC.ca |language=en}}

Franchises and corporate stores

Mary Brown's has 21 corporate stores. The balance of its stores, about 249, are franchised and located throughout Canada.{{Cite web |title=Home |url=http://marybrownsfranchising.com/ |access-date=2018-01-04 |website=Mary Brown’s Quick Serve Chicken Franchise {{!}} Across Canada |language=en-GB}}

Mary Brown's has been a member of the Canadian Franchise Association for over 35 years. The establishment was awarded the Canadian Franchisees’ Choice Award nine years consecutively. In 2019, 2020, and 2021, Mary Brown's was named one of the Best Managed Companies in Canada by Deloitte Canada.

Mary Brown's currently operates approximately 300 stores nationally.

Management

The owner of Mary Brown's is Gregory Roberts of PI Enterprises Group, an entrepreneur and chartered accountant from Triton, Newfoundland and Labrador. Roberts acquired the brand in 2007{{Cite web |title=Our Story {{!}} Franchising |url=https://marybrowns.com/franchising/our-story/ |access-date=2022-10-18 |website=Mary Brown's Chicken |language=en-US}} and since that time, has grown the chain from about 67 stores to its current count of approximately 300 stores.

The president and COO of Mary Brown's from 2018 to 2024 was Hadi Chahin, a 20-year plus executive of the food services industry.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cfa.ca/about-cfa/cfa-board-directors/|title=CFA Board of Directors {{!}} Canadian Franchise Association|website=www.cfa.ca|language=en-US|access-date=2018-01-04}} Prior to joining Mary Brown's, Chahin was the vice president of operations for Chartwells, a division of Compass Group Canada. He also held leadership roles with Sodexo Canada, Prime Restaurants and White Lodging Services.

Tony Samuelson, a longtime senior employee of the brand, was named CEO of the company in 2024. He previously held the titles of Global Chief Development Officer, and vice-president of Operations.{{Cite web |date=2024-07-17 |title=THE BIG INTERVIEW: Why Mary Brown's Chicken crossed the pond |url=https://www.foodserviceequipmentjournal.com/the-big-interview-why-mary-browns-chicken-crossed-the-pond/ |access-date=2024-11-15 |language=en-GB}}

Marketing

The original slogan, which was discontinued in the 1990s, was "Mary Brown has the BEST LEGS IN TOWN!"

Mary Brown's now uses the slogans "Made Fresh from Scratch" and "100% Canadian" in their materials. "Crave Delicious" has become the brand's overriding tagline since mid-2019.{{Cite web|url=http://marybrowns.com/|title=Home|website=Mary Brown's Famous Chicken & Taters|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-01-04}}

"Made Fresh from Scratch" is a reflection of the brand's preparation methods, focusing on fresh rather than frozen chicken. Mary Brown's use the word "handcrafted" to express how they prepare their food.{{Cite web|url=https://marybrowns.com/made-fresh-from-scratch/|title=Made Fresh From Scratch™|website=Mary Brown's Famous Chicken & Taters|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-01-04}}

"Truly Canadian" was adopted as a slogan in 2017 to reflect the brand's heritage as a Newfoundland-founded, Canadian-owned business. Company materials note that the company is family-owned and operated by Canadians, and sells Canada Grade A chicken raised by Canadian farmers.{{Cite web|url=http://marybrownsfranchising.com/a-canadian-success/|title=A Canadian Success|website=Mary Brown’s Quick Serve Chicken Franchise {{!}} Across Canada|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-01-04}}

Mary Brown's original logo was developed in the 1970s and updated in 2000.{{Cite web|url=https://marybrowns.com/marys-story/|title=Mary's Story|website=Mary Brown's Famous Chicken & Taters|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-01-09}} In late 2017, the logo underwent a refresh as part of a more complete rebranding.

In April 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mary Brown's sponsored the temporary removal of all paywalls from Postmedia Network newspaper websites for the month.{{Cite web|url=https://nationalpost.com/editors/all-of-our-content-is-now-accessible-for-free|title=All of our content is now accessible for free|work=National Post|date=2020-04-01|language=en-CA|access-date=2020-04-01}}

In October 2021, Mary Brown's acquired the naming rights to the Mile One Centre in St. John's, in a 10-year deal valued at $1.5 million.{{Cite web|title=The Biggest Mary: Chicken chain Mary Brown's buys naming rights to Mile One Centre|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/mary-browns-mile-one-name-change-1.6210704|access-date=Nov 15, 2021|website=CBC}}