Brown's Chicken & Pasta

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Brown's Chicken & Pasta

Type	Private
Founded	1964 in Bridgeview, Illinois
Headquarters	Bridgeview, Illinois, USA
Key people	Frank Portillo, founder, owner John Brown, founder
Industry	Restaurants
Website	www.brownschicken.com

Brown's Chicken & Pasta, also known simply as Brown's Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants specializing in fried chicken. It is based in Chicago, United States.

1 History
2 Corporate information
3 Brown's Chicken Massacre
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

The chain was founded in 1964 as Brown and Portillo Inc., by John Brown and Frank Portillo, in Bridgeview, Illinois. Brown's expanded to many locations throughout the United States in the 1970's, and also changed their name to simply "Brown's Chicken". In the 1980s, pasta 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.

[edit] Corporate information

Frank Portillo is the president of Brown's Chicken. He is the older brother of Dick Portillo, founder and owner of the Portillo's restaurant chain.

[edit] Brown's Chicken Massacre

On January 8, 1993, the event that would become infamous as the Brown's Chicken Massacre occurred at a Palatine, Illinois branch. Seven people were murdered, including both owners and 5 employees. In 2002, James Degorski and Juan Luna were arrested for the murders.^[1] In May 2007, Luna was convicted of his part in the murders and sentenced to life imprisonment.^[1]

The Palatine branch never reopened after the massacre took place and has since been demolished.