Brown's Chicken & Pasta facts for kids

Brown's Chicken

Type	Private
Industry	Restaurants
Founded	1949; 76 years ago (1949)
Headquarters	Villa Park, Illinois, United States

Brown's Chicken & Pasta is a popular chain of fast food restaurants. People often call it just Brown's Chicken. They are famous for their delicious fried chicken. Most of their restaurants are located around Chicago, Illinois.

The Story of Brown's Chicken

The first Brown's Chicken restaurant opened in 1949. It was started by John and Belva Brown in Bridgeview, Illinois. In the 1970s, Brown's Chicken grew a lot. They opened many new restaurants across the United States.

In the 1980s, something new was added to the menu: pasta! Because of this, the company's name changed to Brown's Chicken & Pasta. Later, in the 1990s, a special grill called "The Chicago Way" was added to all their restaurants.

After 2005, Brown's Chicken decided to focus on the Chicago metropolitan area. So, their restaurants are mostly found there now. In 2023, there were 21 Brown's Chicken restaurants.

Frank Portillo used to be the president of the company. His brother, Dick Portillo, started another famous restaurant group called The Portillo Restaurant Group.

A Difficult Time

On January 8, 1993, a very sad event happened at a Brown's Chicken restaurant in Palatine, Illinois. This event was very difficult for the company. It caused sales to drop by 35 percent. Because of this, about 100 Brown's Chicken restaurants in the Chicago area had to close.

See also

• List of fast-food chicken restaurants