Mary Brown's coming to roost
Fried chicken franchise expected to open next month
Jessica Davey-Quantick
Northern News Services
Friday, December 2, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
You better not pout, you'd better not cry: fried chicken is coming to town.
Mary Brown's Famous Chicken & Taters is set to open by the end of January, says franchisee Perry Campbell.
"The project is going fantastic right now," said Campbell, adding that construction to the interior of the building, located on Old Airport Road, should be complete by the middle of January.
"I'm looking at getting the building probably around mid-January, and hoping to be serving chicken around the third week of January," he said.
For many in Yellowknife, it's about clucking time.
The last fried chicken in Yellowknife flew the coop when KFC closed in 2015.
"There's a market for it here, and that's why I went with it. And I think that the city of Yellowknife deserves to have this here, I really do," said Campbell.
Before launching the restaurant, he spent 33 years working in law enforcement, and 15 years running a courier service. He currently runs Purolator, but says he's ready to cross the road to find out where the chicken is going.
"I love chicken. I'm a connoisseur of deep fried chicken, always have been," he said.
"I believe I'm a good cook."
The restaurant will include a drive-thru, parking and seating for 24 in a 1,700-square-foot space.
This isn't the first time Mary Brown's has nested in Yellowknife. The previous Yellowknife location closed, along with Dairy Queen, in 2002.
Then-owner Seamus Henry cited the lack of available staff for the closure at the time. He said he couldn't keep up with customer demand and a 24-hour schedule.
Campbell says his operation will employ about 25 people.
"I'm expecting to have a really busy restaurant so I want to make sure I have the staff to cover that," he said.
The new Mary Brown's has been marinating since 2015, when plans were first proposed. The new building was constructed over the summer.
Alberta-based Budal Group is currently completing the construction of the interior.
"Basically the building that was there is four walls. So we do everything else," said Budal Group CEO of national operations Todd McPeek. "All we do is build restaurants."
Campbell says local and Northern companies had the opportunity to bid on the work, but Mary Brown's decided to go with Budal.
McPeek is confident that the work will be completed on schedule.
Campbell declined to comment on how much the franchise had cost him at this point.
"Lots. I'll just say lots," he said.
When the previous Mary Brown's and Dairy Queen complex closed, Henry told Yellowknifer that he'd lost $1 million.
"It's not cheap, that's why I'm hoping I'm going to do really well real quick because I'm going to need some help to pay off all this," said Campbell.
"Things are more expensive in the North, you know it costs a lot more to set up a business in Yellowknife than it does in Edmonton or Red Deer or Kelowna. But I knew that when I started."
He says he's confident the results will be finger lickin' worth it.
"I was starting Mary Brown's even when KFC was going full swing. I still believe there's a market here for Mary Brown's, and I'm going to sell the best chicken in the North," said Campbell.
