People go to Brother’s Food Mart locations around the area for a tank of gas, a six pack of beer or a few convenience store items off the shelves.
For many though, the name Brother’s is synonymous with fried chicken, juicy and crisp, served at affordable prices around the clock from its busy hot food counters. Big boxes of the chicken are a particular staple of the Carnival parade parties now reaching their peak season.
That’s why as some Brother’s locations around town have shut down and sit empty, the future of that fried chicken has stirred concern for aficionados.
Fried chicken is the specialty at Brother’s Food Mart, a local chain of gas stations and convenience stores in the New Orleans metro area. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
But today the Brother’s brand is in the process of a major rebuild by its local founders after a sale to a larger company that subsequently fell apart. Today, they operate close to 20 Brother’s locations, and more are in the works (see the location list below).
“The Brother’s name is well known, and we’re trying to bring back the brand the way people know us,” said Brother’s co-founder Imad “Eddie” Hamdan.
Hamdan and his brother-in-law Ziad “Z” Mousa opened the first Brother’s three decades ago on the West Bank Expressway. They eventually built the company into 50 locations. Its red and yellow logo became a familiar sight across the metro area; its fried chicken earned a widespread following.
Imad “Eddie” Hamdan (left) and brother-in-law Ziad “Z” Mousa run Brother’s Food Mart, a chain of gas stations and convenience stores known for its fried chicken in the New Orleans metro area. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
In 2021, Brother’s was acquired by Mountain Express Oil Co., a Georgia-based firm that was then embarking on an ambitious expansion around the region. That included plans to open at least 100 more Brother’s locations in different markets around the South. Hamdan said the vision was to eventually build thousands of stores.
“A lot of brands were born in Louisiana…Popeyes, Raising Cane’s,” said Hamdan. “We thought it would be an opportunity to grow faster than we could without them. Our whole purpose with that was to take us into new states and franchise for more locations.”
Those plans did not go well. By 2023, Mountain Express had filed for bankruptcy, and liquidation of its assets followed later that year, according to reporting from convenience store industry news site C-Store Dive.
Brother’s Food Mart is known for its fried chicken, served 24 hours a day at multiple locations in the New Orleans metro area. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Those reports included allegations of financial mismanagement by Mountain Express executives, with one attorney involved in the bankruptcy describing the company’s abrupt demise as “an epic failure.” Earlier this month, that case resulted in a $15 million settlement from the parent company and an executive to the bankruptcy trustee, according to C-Store Dive.
Building back Brother’s
But back in New Orleans, the Brother’s founders already had the seeds to rebuild. They did not sell all of their locations in 2021, but kept seven under their own ownership even as Mountain Express took over the majority. They retained rights to the Brother’s name, Hamdan said, and their recipes. They have since been gradually rebuilding, in part by buying back locations from Mountain Express creditors.
While they now run fewer than half the number of locations they once did, the founders are working on adding more. That includes two long-vacant properties – one at 3331 Carondelet St., at Louisiana Avenue in Central City, and another at 123 N. Broad St., at Canal Street in Mid-City, among others.
The Mountain Express bankruptcy leaves a hodgepodge of locations that were once part of the Brother’s empire but have been operated separately since the 2021 sale. These other stores have been “de-branded,” and no longer use the Brother’s name.
One of the shuttered locations of a former Brother’s Food Mart on Terry Parkway in Terrytown, which closed after the local brand sold to a larger company. Brother’s is now rebuilding locally. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
The idled interior of what was once a location of Brother’s Food Mart on Terry Parkway in Terrytown, one of several closed after the local brand sold to a larger company. Brother’s is now rebuilding locally. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
But to people accustomed to their locations and their design, the difference may be hard to discern. For instance, two Terrytown locations just a mile apart on Terry Parkway that are now shuttered have the name Brother’s scrubbed from their signs, which now read simply “Food Mart.”
While Hamdan and Mousa are expanding again, they say it’s unlikely all the Brother’s locations they once ran will be back under their umbrella, given the different operators now in place.
At the same time, though, they are eyeing a possible expansion down the Gulf Coast, starting in Destin, Florida, an area where many from the New Orleans area vacation.
Tasting Brother’s chicken
Brother’s stores have long been bastions for 24-hour food around the metro area.
Fried chicken is the specialty at Brother’s Food Mart, a local chain of gas stations and convenience stores in the New Orleans metro area. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
The fried chicken still measures up, as sampled from an Elysian Fields Avenue location during the mid-day lunch rush. Chicken tenders are particularly juicy under a light coating of batter. Fried pieces on the bone give an audible crunch and undercurrent of spice.
Through the day, people stop by for a few pieces for a quick workday meal, and cooks assemble 25-piece “party boxes” all day long. Brother’s is known for fielding much larger catering orders for weddings and even funerals. It’s not unusual for the locations to get orders for 1,000 pieces at a time for events.
Brother’s Food Mart is known for its fried chicken, served 24 hours a day at multiple locations in the New Orleans metro area. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Fried chicken is the specialty at Brother’s Food Mart, a local chain of gas stations and convenience stores in the New Orleans metro area. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
But Carnival time is when Brother’s does the most business. Mousa said locations near parade routes see a big boost in business, but so do others around the area as people stop by en route to their destinations for party provisions.
“Consistency is no joke, and it’s not easy,” said Hamdan. “You have to have the right people, you can’t just hire anyone off the street. It’s about how you execute your recipe and if you can keep up when it’s busy. That’s why we say we’re often imitated, never duplicated.”
Brother’s Food Mart locations
148 Carondelet St., New Orleans7001 Bullard Ave., New Orleans2139 St Charles Ave., New Orleans3101 Elysian Field Ave., New Orleans3032 Elysian Fields Ave., New Orleans5901 Read Blvd., New Orleans6501 I-10 Service Rd., New Orleans2901 Hwy. 90, Avondale3659 Lapalco Blvd., Harvey799 Behrman Hwy., Gretna2000 Carol Sue Ave., Gretna1600 Manhattan Blvd., Harvey2698 Barataria Blvd, Marrero1227 Veterans Blvd., Kenner6600 Veterans Blvd., Metairie4408 I-10 Service Rd., Metairie3528 I-10 Service Rd., Metairie1944 Belle Chasse Hwy., Gretna3135 Nicholson Dr., Baton Rouge
Additional locations Brother’s Food Mart now in development include:
123 N Broad St., New Orleans5401 St Claude Ave., New Orleans3331 Carondelet St., New Orleans3644 Williams Blvd., Kenner104 W 21st Ave., Covington1600 Barataria Blvd., Marrero
