Los Pollos Hermanos

Lore & Background

Los Pollos Hermanos was founded by Chilean nationals and business partners Gus Fring (played by Giancarlo Esposito) and Max Arciniega (James Martinez) in Mexico. 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 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, 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).

Reader's Guide

Los Pollos Hermanos is a fictional fast food restaurant chain that appears in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. In the show, it serves as a front for Gus Fring's methamphetamine operation. The chain was founded by Gus Fring and Max Arciniega in Mexico. It grew to 14 locations in the American Southwest. The restaurant's trucks smuggled drugs across the border, and a chicken farm processed incoming meth. After Fring's death, the chain closed and the flagship was replaced by a Twisters. In real life, the set was at Twisters locations in South Valley, New Mexico. Twisters saw a 10% revenue increase in 2013 due to the association. Pop-up restaurants opened in 2017 in New York, Los Angeles, Austin, and Sydney. The Employee Training miniseries won an Emmy in 2017. In 2018, the Twisters location was renovated for one day to look like Los Pollos Hermanos for the 10th anniversary of Breaking Bad.

Did You Know?

• The logo for Los Pollos Hermanos was created in 2008 by Mexican artist Humberto Puentes-Segura, who later sued Sony Pictures in 2016 over unauthorized merchandise licensing.
• In 2014, a Cook County, Illinois man arrested for manufacturing methamphetamine wore a Los Pollos Hermanos shirt in his mugshot.
• The 2017 Los Pollos Hermanos pop-up in New York City offered only curly fries and no chicken, possibly to avoid NYC Health violations.
• The Employee Training miniseries won the award for Short Form Comedy or Drama Series at the 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.