Mary Brown’s invades Brandon

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This article was published 01/09/2018 (2772 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After losing all of their material possessions in the Fort McMurray fires of 2016, Linda and Tony Strickland returned to their Newfoundland roots and their previous home community of Brandon to start anew.

On Wednesday, they celebrated the soft opening of Brandon’s first Mary Brown’s Chicken & Taters, at 751 18th St. — a franchise restaurant whose 49-year-old roots were planted in their native Newfoundland.

Despite this week being a soft opening, the married couple said on Thursday that a steady stream of people have been flowing into the new restaurant to both try it out and wish them well.

Their collection of flowers from well-wishers has been growing, with yet another bouquet delivered during their interview with The Sun.

“Brandon has a very tight-knit and close business community, and the support is fantastic,” Tony said. “Everybody seems to help everybody out, and they’re very supportive of each other.”

It’s been a long time coming, with the couple securing the location almost a full year ago, around which time planning and building renovations commenced.

They gained occupancy approximately two weeks ago, at which time training for their staff of 25 began.

By Thursday afternoon, staff were seen powering through orders, with a nearly full restaurant of people chowing down on the restaurant’s quick-serve chicken menu items.

Although this is the Strickland couple’s first time owning a business, they spent much of the past couple decades gaining experience in the field as managers at local Tim Hortons franchises.

Despite a foray into Fort McMurray “to try something new,” Tony said that they were ready to return to the quick-serve restaurant environment —a sentiment Linda nodded her head in agreement with.

“We missed it,” he said, adding that it was “the people, mostly; more than anything.”

Finding a receptive business climate in their former longtime home of Brandon, the couple filled out the equation by linking up with Mary Brown’s —a franchise which harkened back to their Newfoundland upbringing.

A popular brand on the east coast, Mary Brown’s has since expanded to more than 140 locations throughout the country, with a restaurant in every province, including three in Winnipeg.

Tony said that while Brandon appeared to have plenty of restaurants that specialize in pizza and burgers, he figured the Wheat City could use another fried chicken option.

With Mary Brown’s chicken and potatoes hand-cut every day and sourced from Canadian farmers, he said that they strive to set themselves apart from others.

Already headed by the married duo of Linda and Tony, Mary Brown’s is poised to become even more family-based in the coming years, with their nine-year-old son Riley already expressing interest in working at the restaurant once he comes of age.

With the youngster playing on the cash register prior to Wednesday’s opening, Tony said that Riley appeared eager to join his parents at the restaurant.

Brandon’s Mary Brown’s Chicken & Taters is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

» tclarke@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB