This is Why a Lawyer Quit his Job to Resurrect a Chicken Chain

Even when he’s sitting in front of a box of Mrs. Winner’s fried chicken and biscuits, John Buttolph still looks like an attorney. The 63-year-old, who has no food or restaurant experience, stepped away from his 35-year career as a lawyer to focus on resurrecting the disappearing fried chicken chain in the Southeast.

Founded in 1979, Mrs. Winner’s was once a staple in the quick-service restaurant fried chicken and biscuits market, known for authentic Southern fried chicken, made-from-scratch biscuits and hot-frosted cinnamon swirls. But after some financial mismanagement, the beloved southeastern chain went bankrupt and shuttered all of its company-owned stores in 2010. The footprint went from 184 locations to just 12.

Since then, not a week has gone by without some sort of public plea to bring back Mrs. Winner’s to the people.

That’s where Buttolph, who had been hired as general counsel for the chain in 2009, comes in.

“After spending a couple years working with the management of the company, working with the landlords on the rented stores, the vendors, and customers— it was apparent to me that there was a tremendous affection for this brand and people just didn’t understand why all the stores were closing,” he says.

Several years following the bankruptcy, Buttolph had the opportunity to acquire the intellectual property associated with Mrs. Winner’s.

“There were no stores left, no equipment, just a trademarked name,” Buttolph says. “That was really it. The former owners of the company weren’t involved in the trademark.”

In 2012, Buttolph made the move to acquire the trademark and set up franchising opportunities. He says that he had to clean house a little bit first — there were some individuals operating Mrs. Winner’s that weren’t affiliated with corporate, but he offered them ways to stay involved in the company. He has is also recruiting new franchisees, with the goal of having 100 new restaurants open within the next five years.