Mary Brown is the creator of the chain's proprietary chicken recipe for southern chicken. Brown's recipe was sold to the founders of the brand, Pat Tarrant and Cyril Fleming, who brought the recipe to Newfoundland to open business in 1969. The first restaurant opened in St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador in 1969 as "Golden Skillet". It was renamed to its present name in 1970. By 1972, Mary Brown's had grown beyond the island of Newfoundland, opening locations in Oshawa and Mississauga, Ontario. From there, the chain expanded west to Alberta, back east to the Maritimes and to Manitoba and Saskatchewan. More recently, Mary Brown's has opened several locations in British Columbia, and a store in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The brand continues to grow coast-to-coast across Canada.
Key executives
The owner and CEO of Mary Brown's is Gregory Roberts of PI Enterprises Group, an entrepreneur and Chartered Accountant from Triton, Newfoundland & Labrador. Roberts acquired the brand in 2007 and since that time, has grown the chain from about 67 stores to its current count of approximately 160 stores. The President and COO of Mary Brown's is Hadi Chahin, a 20-year plus executive of the food services industry. Prior to joining Mary Brown's, Hadi was the Vice President of Operations for Chartwells, a division of Compass Group Canada. He also held leadership roles with Sodexo Canada, Prime Restaurants and White Lodging Services. Chahin has undertaken a national rebrand – as well launching the brand in new channels and expanding in existing markets.
Marketing
Mary Brown's uses the slogans "Made Fresh from Scratch" and "100% Canadian" in their materials. "Crave Delicious" has become the brand's overriding tagline since mid-2019. "Made Fresh from Scratch" is a reflection of the brand's preparation methods, focusing on fresh rather than frozen chicken and farm fresh potatoes. Menu items are prepared and cooked by hand in each location, always in small batches to ensure peak flavour and juiciness. Mary Brown's frequently uses the word "handcrafted" to express how they prepare their food. "Truly Canadian" was adopted as a slogan in 2017 to reflect the brand's heritage as a Newfoundland-founded, Canadian-owned business. Company materials note that the company is family-owned and operated by Canadians, and sells Canada Grade A chicken raised by Canadian farmers. Mary Brown's cameo is frequently used in marketing. The cameo was launched in 2000 and has since become an integral part of the brand. Mary's ‘voice’ is increasingly used in print and social materials, with Mary sharing ideas and comments. The tone and manner of Mary's messages and all Mary Brown's materials is homespun with a touch of irreverence and whimsy. Mary Brown's original logo was developed in the 1970s and drastically updated in 2000. In late 2017, the logo underwent a refresh as part of a more complete rebranding. In April 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mary Brown's sponsored the temporary removal of all paywalls from Postmedia Network newspaper websites for the month.
Mary Brown's has about 20 corporate stores. The balance of its stores, about 140, are franchised and located throughout Canada. Mary Brown's has been a member of the Canadian Franchise Association for over 35 years. They have been awarded the Canadian Franchisees’ Choice Award 9 years consecutively. In 2019, Mary Brown's was named one of the Best Managed Companies in Canada by Deloitte Canada. Mary Brown's currently operates approximately 160 stores nationally. Based on past growth patterns and innovative new approaches, the chain has declared plans to reach 200 stores by 2020.
