A Canadian fried chicken restaurant has closed its Preston site six months after it first opened.
MB Chicken, which has over 300 restaurants in Canada and was in the midst of a UK expansion, has closed its doors unexpectedly after it first opened in May 2025.
A special launch event was hosted to mark the occasions with an open bar, Canadian cocktails and even a live DJ at the Miller Arcade eatery.
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But this was not enough to sustain the business, which has seen new competition emerge in the form of Popeyes Chicken on Fishergate and more to come with Wingstop set to open.
Blog Preston contacted MB Chicken for a statement but did not receive a response. The Facebook and Google pages for the Preston site have been switched to ‘permanently closed’ and it has been removed from the MB Chicken website’s list of restaurants.
Mark Whittle, Preston BID manager, told Blog Preston in response to the news: “It’s a shame to see any business cease trading, especially one that only recently opened.
“We hope that their team members have found employment elsewhere, especially this close to Christmas.
“We would be happy to help put them in touch with other city centre businesses, if required.”
It comes just days after a Preston business owner questioned how a high number of big fried chicken chains could expect to co-exist in Preston city centre.
Michael Evans, who owns All Hopes No Promises and abandoned plans for a fried chicken eatery coming out of the pandemic, said: “Now, with so many chicken shops popping up in Preston, I honestly don’t know how these big chains expect to survive. People don’t see what Preston is really like at night — it can be a ghost town.
“Daytime trade is fine, but evenings are completely different. Yes, new places often get that initial hype and honeymoon period, but keeping three major chicken chains going practically on top of each other seems unrealistic.”
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