Los Pollos Hermanos (English: “The Chicken Brothers”) is a fictional fast food restaurant chain specializing in

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

that was featured in the television series ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan for AMC (TV channel), AMC. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Breaking Bad), Walter White (Bryan Cran ...

'' and its

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American legal crime drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould for AMC. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–201 ...

''. In addition, the restaurant is mentioned in many training videos created to further expand the universe of the show. In the fictional universe of ''Breaking Bad'', Los Pollos Hermanos is featured as a

front organization A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy ...

for

Gus Fring Gustavo Fring is a fictional character portrayed by Giancarlo Esposito in the ''Breaking Bad'' crime drama franchise. Introduced in ''Breaking Bad'' season 2, he serves as the main antagonist in seasons 3– 4 of the series, and a major char ...

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

manufacturing and distribution, but is also highly regarded by the general public of the

Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...

as a regional

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A ...

on par with

KFC KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's se ...

. The set used for the restaurant's

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

location in the show was at a series of Twisters locations in South Valley, New Mexico. As a result of this, Twisters has seen an increase in business attributed to being associated with ''Breaking Bad''. Due to the show's popularity, Los Pollos Hermanos has appeared on numerous occasions as a real-life

pop-up restaurant A pop-up restaurant is a temporary restaurant. These restaurants often operate from a private home, former factory, existing restaurants or similar space, and during festivals. Various other names have been used to describe the concept of settin ...

. The real life restaurant serves the same menu items as in the show.

In-universe history

Los Pollos Hermanos was founded by Chilean nationals and business partners

(played by

Giancarlo Esposito Giancarlo Giuseppe Alessandro Esposito (; born April 26, 1958) is an American actor and director. He rose to prominence by portraying Gus Fring in the AMC (TV channel), AMC crime drama series ''Breaking Bad'' (2009–2011), a role he reprised in ...

) and Max Arciniega ( James Martinez) in Mexico. An

apocrypha Apocrypha () are biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of scripture, some of which might be of doubtful authorship or authenticity. In Christianity, the word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to ...

l story as told in a fictional television commercial suggests that it was inspired by recipes cooked by Gus' uncles. Eventually, Gus emigrated to the United States and opened branches primarily in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

, and the chain grew to have 14 locations throughout the

American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

. Los Pollos Hermanos trucks were used to smuggle drugs manufactured by the show's fictional drug cartel across the

Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...

. A large chicken farm for Los Pollos Hermanos at the outskirts of Albuquerque served as a front where the incoming meth was processed and shipped to the various stores and other destinations. Fring kept the restaurants themselves clean of any business related to drugs. The company eventually became a subsidiary of a fictional German shipping conglomerate, Madrigal Electromotive

GmbH (; ) is a type of Juridical person, legal entity in German-speaking countries. It is equivalent to a (Sàrl) in the Romandy, French-speaking region of Switzerland and to a (Sagl) in the Ticino, Italian-speaking region of Switzerland. It is a ...

, whose connections Fring used to further increase the outreach of both his legal and illegal operations. After Fring's death at the hands of Walter White (

Bryan Cranston Bryan Lee Cranston (born March 7, 1956) is an American actor. After taking minor roles in television, he established himself as a leading actor in both comedic and dramatic Bryan Cranston filmography, works on stage and screen. He has received ...

) and

Hector Salamanca ''Breaking Bad'' is a crime drama franchise created by American filmmaker Vince Gilligan. It started with the television series ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–13), and is followed by a prequel/sequel series, ''Better Call Saul'' (2015–22), and a seq ...

(

Mark Margolis Mark Margolis (, ; November 26, 1939 – August 3, 2023) was an American actor known for his portrayal of the character Hector Salamanca in ''Breaking Bad'' (2009–2011) and '' Better Call Saul'' (2016–2022). His performance in ''Breaking Ba ...

), the chain was closed, with the flagship restaurant in Albuquerque being replaced with a Twisters (the same restaurant which is used as the filming set in real-life).

Real-life history

While ''Breaking Bad'' was still being aired in 2013, Twisters claimed to have received a 10% increase in revenue due to its association with ''Breaking Bad''. In 2014, a

Cook County, Illinois Cook County is the List of counties in Illinois, most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the List of the most populous counties in the United States, second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, C ...

man was arrested and charged with several crimes including the manufacturing of

, and wore a Los Pollos Hermanos shirt in his mugshot. ''Breaking Bad'' creator

Vince Gilligan George Vincent Gilligan Jr. (born February 10, 1967) is an American screenwriter and filmmaker. He is best known as the creator, primary writer, executive producer, and occasional director of the AMC (TV channel), AMC crime drama series ''Brea ...

revealed on a 2015

Reddit AMA r/IAmA is a Reddit#Subreddits, subreddit for question-and-answer interactive interviews termed "AMA" (short for "Ask Me Anything"). AMA interviewees have ranged from various celebrities to everyday people in several lines of work. Founded in Ma ...

that there were talks at Sony to make Los Pollos Hermanos into a real restaurant. The logo for Los Pollos Hermanos was created in 2008 by Mexican artist Humberto Puentes-Segura. Topanga Productions, a subsidiary of

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...

, the producer of ''Breaking Bad'', began selling merchandise including T-shirts and hats displaying the Los Pollos Hermanos logo. In 2016, Puentes-Segura sued Sony Pictures and Topanga Productions, claiming he did not permit Sony to license or sell merchandise using the logo. In 2017 Los Pollos Hermanos opened as a series of

s across several cities. It was announced to open from April 9–10 in New York City on Pearl Street, although the pop-up only offered curly fries and not chicken at all, possibly to avoid NYC Health violations. It also appeared in Los Angeles on April 10–11, and

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

for

South by Southwest South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

. On April 11–12, a pop-up event occurred at Thirsty Bird in

Potts Point, New South Wales Potts Point is a small and densely populated suburb in inner-city Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Potts Point is located east of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney. Potts Po ...

, with Giancarlo Esposito making a visit on the first day.

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, the international distributor for the series, also organized two separate pop-up events in Italy on May 12–13 at real fried chicken restaurants in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

which were decorated to look like Los Pollos Hermanos restaurants. In 2017, the ''Los Pollos Hermanos Employee Training'' miniseries was released as a promotion for ''Better Call Saul'' Season 3. It won the award for Short Form Comedy or Drama Series at the 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. On January 20, 2018, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the beginning of ''Breaking Bad'', the Twisters location used to film the restaurant on the show was temporarily renovated for a single day to look like Los Pollos Hermanos. The occasion was paid for by "superfans" Edward Candelaria and Marq Smith, and was allegedly unsanctioned by Sony Pictures or AMC. The event also coincided with the beginning of filming for ''Better Call Saul'' Season 4, and several ''Breaking Bad'' cast members, including Ian Posada ( Brock Cantillo) and Jeremiah Bitsui ( Victor), appeared at the event. In August 2018,

Postmates Postmates Inc. is an American food delivery service, founded in 2011, and acquired by Uber in 2020. It offers local delivery of restaurant-prepared meals and other goods. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. , Postmates operate ...

offered a limited-time delivery service for Los Pollos Hermanos in Los Angeles and New York City. In late 2019 the "Breaking Bad Experience" pop-up restaurant operated on 7100

Santa Monica Boulevard Santa Monica Boulevard is a major west–east thoroughfare in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It runs from Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica near the Pacific Ocean to Sunset Boulevard at Sunset Junction in Los Angeles. It passes t ...

West Hollywood, California West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. History Most historical writing ...

, and included items reminiscent of Los Pollos Hermanos. A few days later, it was announced that delivery kitchen network Family Style Inc. partnered with Sony Pictures Consumer Products and began being offering Los Pollos Hermanos through

Uber Eats Uber Eats is an online food ordering and delivery platform launched by the company Uber in 2014. It is operational in over 6,000 cities in 45 countries as of 2021. History Uber Eats' parent company Uber was founded in 2009 by Garrett ...

in select markets, starting with Los Angeles. A pop-up location in

Venice Beach, California Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

also opened on October 24, 2019 for the premiere of '' El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie''. The food court at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

features a fried chicken outlet with ''Los Pollos Hermanos'' branding.

References

External links

Los Pollos Hermanos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollos Hermanos, Los Breaking Bad Better Call Saul Fictional elements introduced in 2009 Fictional companies Fictional restaurants Fictional food and drink Fictional organized crime groups Fictional drug dealers Front organizations Fried chicken Mexico in fiction New Mexico in fiction Theme restaurants Restaurants in Albuquerque, New Mexico

In-universe history

Real-life history

See also

References

External links