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]
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]
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