Pioneer Chicken (or Pioneer Take Out, as it is officially named) is an American fried chicken restaurant chain which was founded in

Echo Park, Los Angeles Echo Park is a neighborhood in the east-central region of Los Angeles, California. Located to the northwest of Downtown, it is bordered by Silver Lake to the west and Chinatown to the east. The culturally diverse neighborhood has become known f ...

in 1961 by H. R. Kaufman. When Kaufman sold the chain in 1987, there were 270 restaurants operated by 220 franchisees. During the 1970s, several locations operated in Honolulu on the island of Oahu,

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. As of 2021, there are only two locations remaining, one in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles and the other in

Bell Gardens, California Bell Gardens is a city in the U.S. state of California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Located in Los Angeles County, the city's population was 42,072 at the 2010 census, down from 44,054 at the 2000 census. Bell Gardens is part of the ...

, both unrelated former franchises.

Origins

It was named after Pioneer Market, a now-defunct small chain of supermarkets in Los Angeles. The original location in Echo Park was located next to the 1980s-era Pioneer Market (the original 1932 market was razed in the 1980s due to the

Sylmar earthquake The 1971 San Fernando earthquake (also known as the 1971 Sylmar earthquake) occurred in the early morning of February 9 in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains in southern California. The unanticipated thrust earthquake had a magnitude of ...

) at Echo Park Avenue and

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in ...

, which was replaced by a

Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, a ...

Pharmacy in 2004. Due to considerable redevelopment activity in the neighborhood, the original Pioneer Chicken location was shut down in March 2009 and replaced by a Little Caesar's Pizza the following year. During the 1980s, Los Angeles Lakers announcer

Chick Hearn Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn (November 27, 1916 – August 5, 2002) was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 41 years. Hearn is remembered for his rapid ...

and former football player O. J. Simpson advertised for the restaurant. Pioneer Chicken Meal

Pioneer Chicken was remembered for its bright orange deep fried chicken (pictured right), menu option of gizzards and livers as appetizers, and Pioneer Pete, the company mascot and protagonist in comic books that were provided with their kid's meals.

Bankruptcy

In 1988 founder H. R. Kaufman and business associate Terrence P. Goggin filed for Chapter 11 in Federal Bankruptcy Court. At that point, Pioneer Chicken had 220 franchise owners and 270 stores. The company faltered under competition pressure from Kentucky Fried Chicken.

AFC Enterprises acquisition

In 1993, Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits owner

AFC Enterprises Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., also known as Popeyes and formerly named Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits, is an American multinational chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants that was formed in 1972 ...

purchased the franchise and converted most locations to Popeyes.

Locations

There are two remaining locations in the Los Angeles area: 1) 904 S. Soto Street, Los Angeles; 2) 6323 E. Florence Avenue, Bell Gardens.

In Indonesia

In 1983, three Indonesian alumni from the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

decided to open a Pioneer Chicken franchise in Jakarta under the name California Fried Chicken.Link
via

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.(English translation of webpage)
via

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. As of 2013, the parent company of the stores in Indonesia, Pioneerindo Gourmet International, have over 200 CFC restaurants throughout that nation. CFC had a few franchises in Shanghai during the 1990s, but they may not currently exist.

References

{{coord missing, Los Angeles County, California Fast-food poultry restaurants Fast-food chains of the United States Restaurants in Los Angeles History of Los Angeles Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1988 Restaurants established in 1961 1961 establishments in California Bell Gardens, California Chicken chains of the United States