Otto Koch, 73: owned Chicken Delight chain
Charlene
Chicken Delight boss was frugal, generous
By: Breanne Massey
Posted: 31/12/2010 6:53 AM
THE Winnipeg businessman behind the Chicken Delight chain died from
heart failure early on Tuesday morning.
Otto Koch, 73, immigrated from Herzberg/Harz, Germany to Winnipeg in
1959 and made Winnipeg his home. Koch and Irv Benne, his first
business-partner, purchased the Chicken Delight franchise on Portage
Avenue in May of 1969 and, by 1979, Koch was the sole owner of global
franchise rights for the Chicken Delight company.
Known for a particularly catchy jingle, "Don’t cook tonight, call
Chicken Delight," the company is based in Winnipeg. The chain of
restaurants serves chicken, pizza and ribs that can be ordered to eat
in, take out or delivered.
Koch’s entrepreneurial flare and his vision provided a lucrative
living, but friends remember him as a gentle and down-to-earth man who
was humble.
"For somebody who was as frugal with his own expenses, he was so
generous with others," said Armin von Hacht, a close friend who was
sitting with Koch’s family last night. "If he saw people had a need
for something, he was always ready to go and assist them."
"He had a huge gathering of close friends," said von Hacht. "Not just
associates, he had a lot of friends."
Many people observed Koch at work or on trips home to Germany, but
people noticed that he always took others under his wing ensuring
their happiness both professionally and personally.
Koch is survived by relatives including his wife Alayna Braunstein and
his sister Rose Brenner.
The Glen Eden Funeral Home on 4477 Main Street will hold a celebration
of Koch’s life on Jan. 10 at 2 p.m.
breanne...@freepress.mb.ca
More info on Chicken Delight:
http://theyalwayscomeback.blogspot.com/2008/01/chicken-delight.html
wd46
R H Draney
>
>THE Winnipeg businessman behind the Chicken Delight chain died from
>heart failure early on Tuesday morning.
>Otto Koch, 73, immigrated from Herzberg/Harz, Germany to Winnipeg in
>1959 and made Winnipeg his home. Koch and Irv Benne, his first
>business-partner, purchased the Chicken Delight franchise on Portage
>Avenue in May of 1969 and, by 1979, Koch was the sole owner of global
>franchise rights for the Chicken Delight company.
>Chicken Delight," the company is based in Winnipeg. The chain of
>restaurants serves chicken, pizza and ribs that can be ordered to eat
>in, take out or delivered.
I remember them in Los Angeles when I was a kid...according to Google Maps,
there's still one location there but the neighborhood looks a little
sketchy...closest approximation to the taste since then was Pioneer Chicken,
which has disappeared altogether, so I'm stuck with a third-hand imitation, the
deli section at Basha's supermarkets....r
--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.
Scott Brady
> http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Chicken-Delight-boss-wa...
> Known for a particularly catchy jingle, "Don’t cook tonight, call
> Chicken Delight,"
If not for force of habit, he'd have been saved by 911.
Kris Baker
"R H Draney" <dado...@spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:iflvv...@drn.newsguy.com...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_Delight
We in Utah didn't get "much" in the 1960s, so I thought it was
a local chain.
Kris