Los Pollos Hermanos

This article is about the business. For the flagship restaurant location in Albuquerque, see Los Pollos Hermanos, Albuquerque.

Los Pollos Hermanos
Locations	Albuquerque
Type	Fast-food restaurant chain
Owners	Gustavo Fring Madrigal Electromotive GmbH
Employees	Cynthia (manager)
Appearances in Breaking Bad
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Appearances in Better Call Saul
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"The finest ingredients are brought together with love and care, then slow cooked to perfection. Yes, the old ways are still best at Los Pollos Hermanos. But don't take my word for it. One taste, and you'll know."

―Excerpt from the Los Pollos Hermanos TV commercial

Los Pollos Hermanos is a fast-food restaurant chain that specializes in fried chicken operating across the southwestern United States. The name, pronounced [los ˈpo.ʝos eɾˈma.nos], is ungrammatical Spanish for "The Chicken Brothers." Founded by Gustavo Fring and Max Arciniega, the restaurant chain had fourteen locations throughout the southwest and was Gustavo Fring's major business concern. Los Pollos Hermanos is a subsidiary of Madrigal Electromotive, a German conglomerate with an ownership stake in the company. The restaurant also provided money-laundering and logistics for illegal activities.

Ownership

Gustavo owns 14 Los Pollos restaurants in the South Western United States between Albuquerque and Nevada ("Mandala",  "Bug"). The flagship restaurant has had many visitors from employees of Gus' other business, namely Walter White, The Cousins, and Mike Ehrmantraut. Hank Schrader has also staked out the restaurant to monitor Fring. When Gus wants to talk to one of his employees, he texts them "Pollos" to have them meet at his restaurant or chicken farm. Employees at Los Pollos Hermanos must answer the phone with the restaurant's motto: "Los Pollos Hermanos, where something delicious is always cooking." ("Hermanos") Los Pollos Hermanos advertises its chicken as "slow-cooked to perfection... one taste, and you'll know."

History

See also history of Los Pollos Hermanos, Albuquerque.

Founding

Following Max's death at the hands of the Juárez Cartel, Gus became sole owner of the business. He used this legitimate business to aid in his shipment and distribution of drugs, specifically crystal methamphetamine.

Season 3

Los Pollos commercial

thumb|300px|Los Pollos Hermanos commercial and a look at how it ties in with Gus Fring's superlab production process. A Los Pollos Hermanos commercial extols the chain's signature chicken. Back at the lab, Walt and Jesse hand off a batch of blue crystal meth, which ends up at Gus' chicken farm. The meth distribution process continues as Victor supervises workers as they submerge plastic bags of blue meth into specially-marked tubs of fry batter put into Los Pollos refrigerated trucks for shipment across the Southwest ("Kafkaesque").

Later, in Gus's office in the restaurant, Mike and Gus examine the gunmen's passports. "It's cartel, all right," says Mike. "Probing for weakness," replies Gus. "What about Pinkman?" Gus asks. "I'm making inquiries," says Mike ("Full Measure").

Season 4

Mike inside the Los Pollos refrigerated truck ("Bullet Points")

Mike huddles inside a Los Pollos Hermanos refrigerated truck as it travels down the highway. The truck stops: Mike knows something's up. Mike hunkers down as two gunmen blast the truck with machine guns. When they open the rear doors, Mike shoots them dead and jumps out. He winces as he touches his ear -- a bullet took a chunk out ("Bullet Points"). Later, Mike meets with Gus in his office and explains that Jesse is becoming a liability. Walt may not like it, Mike continues, but something has to be done.

Hank tells Marie that he's resumed the Gale Boetticher case. Looking through police photographs taken in Gale's apartment, Hank notices a napkin from Los Pollos Hermanos, with some letters and numbers - perhaps a serial or model number for some product - inked at the bottom. Reflecting on Gale's dietary habits, Hank wonders aloud to Marie, "Since when do vegans eat fried chicken?" ("Shotgun").

Hijacking Los Pollos trucks

The Los Pollos truck driver dead as a result of the cartel's ambush

Reminiscent of Mike's earlier experience, Cartel thugs ambush a Los Pollos Hermanos refrigerated truck. This time they pump it full of exhaust. After the two guards traveling inside the shipment suffocate to death, the thugs enter the trailer -- but take only a single marked container of fry batter ("Cornered").

Inside the house Jesse and Mike are waiting outside of, the second meth head, far more belligerent than his cohort, brandishes a shotgun. While trying to talk the tweaker down, Jesse notices the stolen Los Pollos Hermanos batter container. Mike enters the house and distracts the meth head. Jesse bashes him over the head and disarms him. Mike picks up the container lid, which has a message in Spanish written on it. This message is translated as "Ready to talk?" ("Cornered").

Hank's investigation

Hank later meets with Gomez and ASAC George Merkert at the DEA. He describes Gale and his murder, and hypothesizes that Gale is Heisenberg's former cook. The letters and numbers scribbled on the Los Pollos Hermanos napkin found in Gale's apartment, Hank explains, were the parts number for an industrial air-filtration system that Gale took delivery on. A system, Hank notes, perfect "for the biggest meth lab north of the border." By coincidence, its manufacturer is owned by a German-based conglomerate that also has a stake in Los Pollos Hermanos ("Problem Dog").

Hank theorizes that a vegetarian like Gale wouldn't eat at a chicken restaurant, and further that he'd only go to Los Pollos Hermanos for a meeting, perhaps with Gus. "What do we know about this Gustavo Fring?" asks Hank, questioning Gus's supposed affinity for law enforcement. "Maybe he's our guy." Merkert suggests that Hank is "really reaching." Hank concedes that he thought so too at first. But one thing troubles him, says Hank, pausing for effect as he reveals photographs of a fingerprint on a Los Pollos soda cup and prints from the crime scene. "What are Gustavo Fring's fingerprints doing in Gale Boetticher's apartment?" Hank asks, laying his trump card on the table ("Problem Dog").

Following the Cartel intimidation incident with the sniper - who turns out to be Gaff, the thug who delivered the Cartel's ultimatum earlier - Gus receives a call that night in his Los Pollos Hermanos office. "Tell them my answer is yes," he says in Spanish ("Bug").

Season 5

Disbandment 

Gus's restaurant chain collapsed along with his drug empire. At Madrigal Electromotive, executive Peter Schuler watches as the Los Pollos Hermanos logo is removed from the other companies comprising Madrigal's fast food division ("Madrigal").

Menu

American Platters

• Two Egg Special (w/meat)
• Omelettes-(4 eggs)
  1. Ham & Cheddar
  2. Bacon & Cheddar
  3. Sausage & Cheddar
  4. Cheese
  5. Denver
• 2 + 4 + 4

("Problem Dog")

Locations

Known locations of Pollos restaurants as seen in the teaser of "Kafkaesque":

• Alamogordo, NM
• Albuquerque, NM
• Brownfield, TX
• Lubbock, TX

The map Steve Gomez shows to Hank in "Kafkaesque" would indicate that the other locations may be in or around:

• Abilene, TX
• Amarillo, NX
• Carlsbad, NM
• Colorado Springs, CO
• Farmington, NM
• Flagstaff, AZ
• Las Cruces, NM
• Farmington, NM
• Odessa, TX
• Phoenix, AZ
• St. George, UT
• Tucson, AZ

Fleet

Los Pollos Hermanos use a number of trucks for their deliveries. These include:

• Freightliner Business Class M2 106 ("Kafkaesque")
• International DuraStar ("Kafkaesque")
• International 4000 series ("Bullet Points") ("Cornered")
• 2007 GMC Savana 3500 ("Bug")
• 2007 Chevrolet Suburban ("Face Off")

Trivia

• The Season 3 episode "Kafkaesque" has a TV commercial for Los Pollos Hermanos. The commercial's copyright says "Los Pollos Hermanos Inc. is a registered trademark of Madrigal Electromotive GmbH".
• The voice used for the narration of the LPH commercial sounds uncannily like Ricardo Montalban.
• There's a domain in the real life called http://www.lospolloshermanos.com/ but it redirects to a website how sells military first aid and trauma kits.
• The scenes in the main restaurant were shot in an Albuquerque fast food restaurant named Twisters. The crew put their own signage on the packages.