Brown's Chicken & Pasta
Encyclopedia
Brown's Chicken & Pasta, also known simply as Brown's Chicken, is a chain of fast food
restaurant
s specializing in fried chicken
. It is based in the Chicago Metropolitan Area.
was added to the menu and eventually the name of the company. In the 1990s, a traditional grill named "The Chicago Way" was added to all Brown's restaurants. The Chicago Way sells Vienna Beef
hot dogs, hamburgers, and Italian beef sandwiches. After 2005, the company contracted their locations to exclusively within the Chicago metropolitan area.
Frank Portillo's daughter, Toni Portillo, is the current president of Brown's Chicken. Dick Portillo, founder and owner of the Portillo's restaurant chain, is Frank Portillo's younger brother.
On December 30, 2009, Brown's Chicken & Pasta, Inc filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
occurred at a Palatine, Illinois
, branch. Seven people were murdered, including both owners and 5 employees, all of whom were found bound in the walk-in freezer. In 2002, James Degorski and Juan Luna were arrested for the murders. In May 2007, Luna was convicted of his part in the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment
. On September 28, 2009, James Degorski was found guilty of the murders.
The Palatine branch never reopened after the massacre took place, although a Brown's did open less than a mile east of the old Brown's 3 years after the massacre. Throughout the late 1990s, a few businesses tried to use the site but were unsuccessful and soon went out of business. The site has since been demolished. For years, it was an extension of the surrounding parking lot until a Chase bank was built on the site in 2009.
The massacre had an adverse effect on the entire Brown's Chicken chain. Sales at all restaurants dropped 35 percent within months of the incident, and Frank Portillo eventually had to close 100 restaurants in the Chicago area.
Fast food
Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...
restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s specializing in fried chicken
Fried chicken
Fried chicken is a dish consisting of chicken pieces usually from broiler chickens which have been floured or battered and then pan fried, deep fried, or pressure fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior...
. It is based in the Chicago Metropolitan Area.
History
The chain was founded in 1964 as Brown and Portillo Inc. by John Brown and Frank Portillo in Chicago, Illinois. Brown's expanded to many locations throughout the United States in the 1970s, and also changed their name to simply "Brown's Chicken". In the 1980s, pastaPasta
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, now of worldwide renown. It takes the form of unleavened dough, made in Italy, mostly of durum wheat , water and sometimes eggs. Pasta comes in a variety of different shapes that serve for both decoration and to act as a carrier for the...
was added to the menu and eventually the name of the company. In the 1990s, a traditional grill named "The Chicago Way" was added to all Brown's restaurants. The Chicago Way sells Vienna Beef
Vienna Beef
Vienna Beef is a manufacturer of hot dog used in the classic Chicago style hot dog, as well as Polish sausage and Italian beef, delicacies of independent Chicago-style hot dog and beef stands...
hot dogs, hamburgers, and Italian beef sandwiches. After 2005, the company contracted their locations to exclusively within the Chicago metropolitan area.
Frank Portillo's daughter, Toni Portillo, is the current president of Brown's Chicken. Dick Portillo, founder and owner of the Portillo's restaurant chain, is Frank Portillo's younger brother.
On December 30, 2009, Brown's Chicken & Pasta, Inc filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Brown's Chicken Massacre
On January 8, 1993, the event that would become infamous as the Brown's Chicken MassacreBrown's Chicken massacre
The Brown's Chicken massacre was a mass murder that occurred at a Brown's Chicken restaurant in Palatine, Illinois, a northwest suburb of Chicago, in the United States in 1993. The massacre occurred on January 8, 1993, when two assailants robbed the Brown's Chicken restaurant and then proceeded to...
occurred at a Palatine, Illinois
Palatine, Illinois
Palatine is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is a northwestern residential suburb of Chicago. As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 65,479, making it the sixth-largest community in Cook County and the 16th-largest in the state of Illinois at that time...
, branch. Seven people were murdered, including both owners and 5 employees, all of whom were found bound in the walk-in freezer. In 2002, James Degorski and Juan Luna were arrested for the murders. In May 2007, Luna was convicted of his part in the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. On September 28, 2009, James Degorski was found guilty of the murders.
The Palatine branch never reopened after the massacre took place, although a Brown's did open less than a mile east of the old Brown's 3 years after the massacre. Throughout the late 1990s, a few businesses tried to use the site but were unsuccessful and soon went out of business. The site has since been demolished. For years, it was an extension of the surrounding parking lot until a Chase bank was built on the site in 2009.
The massacre had an adverse effect on the entire Brown's Chicken chain. Sales at all restaurants dropped 35 percent within months of the incident, and Frank Portillo eventually had to close 100 restaurants in the Chicago area.