Los Pollos Hermanos

Los Pollos Hermanos (Spanish pronunciation: [los ˈpo.ʝos eɾ.ˈma.nos]; broken Spanish for The Chicken Brothers) is a fictional fast food restaurant chain specializing in chicken that was featured in the television series Breaking Bad and its spin-off Better Call Saul. In the fictional universe of Breaking Bad, Los Pollos Hermanos is featured as a front organization for Gus Fring's methamphetamine manufacturing and distribution operation, but is also highly regarded by the general public of the Southwest as a regional chain on par with KFC. The set used for the restaurant's Albuquerque location in the show was at a Twisters branch in South Valley, New Mexico, and 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. The real life restaurant serves the same menu items as in the show.

For the Panamanian town, see Los Pollos.
For the song, see Knucks (musical artist).

Los Pollos Hermanos
Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul location
Logo
First appearance
Last appearance
Created byVince Gilligan
George Mastras
In-universe information
TypeRestaurant
Location14 different locations, with the most notable in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States, Tunisia

In-universe history
Giancarlo Esposito plays Gus Fring, the owner of Los Pollos Hermanos.

Los Pollos Hermanos was founded by Chilean nationals and business partners Gus Fring (played by Giancarlo Esposito) and Max Arciniega (James Martinez) in Mexico.[1] An apocryphal 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, and the chain grew to have 14 locations throughout the American Southwest. Los Pollos Hermanos trucks were used to smuggle drugs manufactured by the show's fictional drug cartel across the Mexico–United States border. A large chicken farm for Los Pollos Hermanos at the outskirts of Albuquerque served as a front where the incoming meth were 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, 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) and Hector Salamanca (Mark Margolis), 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).[2]

Real-life history
The Twisters store in Albuquerque used for the flagship Los Pollos Hermanos store during the filming of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul

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.[3]

In 2014, a Cook County, Illinois man was arrested and charged with several crimes including the manufacturing of methamphetamine, and wore a Los Pollos Hermanos shirt in his mugshot.[4][5] Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan revealed on a 2015 Reddit AMA that there were talks at Sony to make Los Pollos Hermanos into a real restaurant.[6]

The logo for Los Pollos Hermanos was created in 2008 by Mexican artist Humberto Puentes-Segura. Topanga Productions, a subsidiary of Sony Pictures, 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.[7]

In 2017 Los Pollos Hermanos opened as a series of pop-up restaurants 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.[8][9] It also appeared in Los Angeles on April 10–11,[10] and Austin, Texas for South by Southwest.[11] On April 11–12, a pop-up event occurred at Thirsty Bird in Potts Point, New South Wales, with Giancarlo Esposito making a visit on the first day.[12] Netflix, 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 and Milan which were decorated to look like Los Pollos Hermanos restaurants.[13][14]

In 2017, the Los Pollos Hermanos Employee Training mini-series was released as a promo 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.[15]

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.[16] The occasion was paid for by "superfans" Edward Candelaria and Marq Smith, and was allegedly unsanctioned by Sony Pictures or AMC.[17][18] 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.[19][20]

In August 2018, Postmates offered a limited-time delivery service for Los Pollos Hermanos in Los Angeles and New York City.[21][22]

In late 2019 the "Breaking Bad Experience" pop-up restaurant operated on 7100 Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, and included items reminiscent of Los Pollos Hermanos.[23] 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 in select markets, starting with Los Angeles.[24][25] A pop-up location in Venice Beach, California also opened on October 24, 2019 for the premiere of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.[26]

The food court at the University of Aberdeen features a fried chicken outlet with Los Pollos Hermanos branding.[27][28]

See also

References
  1. Bowman, Donna (September 4, 2011). "Breaking Bad: "Hermanos"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on November 16, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  2. Acuna, Olivia Singh, Kirsten (October 18, 2019). "30 details you may have missed in Netflix's 'Breaking Bad' movie". Insider. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. Hooton, Christopher (February 26, 2013). "A Breaking Bad pilgrimage to the real Los Pollos Hermanos". Metro. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  4. Nicks, Denver (February 26, 2014). "Guy Wearing Breaking Bad Shirt Busted for Meth Lab". Time. Archived from the original on May 28, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  5. Fields, Liz (February 26, 2014). "Man Wearing 'Breaking Bad' Los Pollos Hermanos T-shirt Busted for Allegedly Running Meth Lab". ABC News. Archived from the original on May 22, 2017. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  6. Hooton, Christopher (May 1, 2015). "A real life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant is in the works". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  7. Cullins, Ashley (October 31, 2016). "Artist Behind 'Breaking Bad's' Los Pollos Hermanos Sues Sony". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on December 15, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  8. Tuder, Stefanie (April 10, 2017). "'Breaking Bad' Pop-Up Restaurant Pretty Much Only Consists of Curly Fries". Eater NY. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  9. McCluskey, Megan (April 4, 2017). "Breaking Bad's Los Pollos Hermanos Restaurant Is Pretty Real". Time. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  10. Donatelli, Joe (March 28, 2017). "Los Pollos Hermanos Is Popping Up Downtown on Wednesday and Thursday Los Angeles Magazine". Archived from the original on June 4, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  11. McCart, Melissa (March 28, 2017). "'Breaking Bad' Restaurant Los Pollos Hermanos Is Popping Up in NYC". Eater NY. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  12. Bastians, Kate (April 12, 2017). "Sydney's Breaking Bad fans go wild for Los Pollos Hermanos pop-up restaurant". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on March 8, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  13. "Breaking Bad's "Los Pollos Hermanos" opens in Italy". All About Italy. May 11, 2017. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  14. "Netflix — Los Pollos Hermanos". Behance.net. February 2018. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  15. Walsh, Devon. "The 'Los Pollos Hermanos' Employee Training Videos Won an Emmy". Food & Wine. Archived from the original on March 11, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  16. Biron, Bethany (January 14, 2018). "An actual Los Pollos Hermanos is coming to Albuquerque, and it's every "Breaking Bad" fan's dream come true". HelloGiggles. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  17. Rainey, Clint (January 12, 2018). "Albuquerque Gets an IRL Los Pollos Hermanos for Breaking Bad's Anniversary". Grub Street. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  18. White, Abbey. "Los Pollos Hermanos Pop-Up Comes to Albuquerque for Breaking Bad's 10th Anniversary". Food & Wine. Archived from the original on December 17, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  19. MacRae, Dan (January 14, 2018). "New Mexico 'Breaking Bad' Fans Are Getting A Real Los Pollos Hermanos". Uproxx. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  20. "Twisters transforms into 'Los Pollos Hermanos' for 10th anniversary of Breaking Bad". KRQE. January 20, 2018. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  21. Sherman, Erik (August 22, 2018). "AMC Delivered 'Los Pollos Hermanos' Chicken to 'Better Call Saul' Fans. Here's Why It Didn't Work". Inc.com. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
  22. Irick, Whitney (August 19, 2018). "LA, NYC 'Better Call Saul' Fans Can Order Los Pollos Hermanos on Postmates". NBC Los Angeles. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  23. Castrodale, Jelisa. "A 'Breaking Bad' Pop-Up Is Coming to L.A." Food & Wine. Archived from the original on December 26, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  24. Gardner, Chris (October 21, 2019). "'Breaking Bad' Restaurant Los Pollos Hermanos Comes to Life Via Virtual Restaurant". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  25. Castrodale, Jelisa. "Uber Eats Will Deliver Food from 'Breaking Bad' Restaurant Los Pollos Hermanos". Food & Wine. Archived from the original on December 21, 2019. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  26. "'Breaking Bad' Movie Brings Los Pollos Hermanos to Real Life". TMZ. September 27, 2019. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  27. Kellie, Ewan (November 22, 2022). "University Food Court undergoes revamp for autumn term". The Gaudie. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
  28. "Student Union Building | About". The University of Aberdeen. September 27, 2019. Archived from the original on May 15, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2020.
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