Pioneer Chicken

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Pioneer Chicken, or Pioneer Take Out as it is officially named, is an American fried chicken restaurant which was founded in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles in 1961 by H.R. Kaufman. There are three locations remaining in Los Angeles. It still exists in China as well.

During the 1980s, Los Angeles Lakers announcer Chick Hearn and former football great O. J. Simpson used to advertise for the restaurant. In the 1990s Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits owner AFC Enterprises purchased the franchise and converted most locations into Popeyes.

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 having been torn down in the 1980s) and is (now a Walgreens Pharmacy) on Echo Park Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. Due to considerable redevelopment activity in the neighborhood caused by gentrification, it was shut down in March 2009.

Today, Pioneer Chicken operates in China under the name "California Chicken". The chicken is still prepared with the original recipe.

As of 2002, the Pioneer Chicken located on Olympic Blvd. became the "official restaurant". http://www.guyselga.com/?p=24.  of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (or E3).

The Original owner of the Olympic Blvd. Pioneer location with a group of hungry E3 attendees, circa 2006

There are three remaining locations in the Los Angeles area: 1) 5970 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles (near San Vicente Blvd); 2) 904 S Soto Street, Los Angeles; and 3) 6323 Florence Avenue, Bell Gardens.