How Kentucky Fried Chicken arrived in the Townships

By Taylor McClure, Special to The Record

Believe it or not, before Pizzaville made its way to Lennoxville, a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise stood in its place at 116 Queen Street known as ‘Pat’s Villa du Poulet.’ Douglas Patrick, born in Dennison Mills, Richmond, was introduced to the restaurant business at a young age by his two restauranteur parents. He eventually decided to get into the business himself and opened up a service station in Lennoxville in 1951. It didn’t stay open for long. He sold it to buy out the Minto Lunch Cart, owned by Perly Herring, on Speid Street in Lennoxville, which he operated from 1952 to 1958. In April of 1958, he moved to 116 Queen Street where he opened a restaurant with a horseshoe counter and 20 stools. Patrick was a member of the Canadian Restaurant Association. He joined in 1957, and it was at one of their monthly meetings at the Chantieler Hotel in Ste-Adele that he was convinced to take on a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise. See full story in the Friday, August 2 edition of The Record.

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