When Your Brand Is Your Neighborhood, How Do You Grow?

On a winter afternoon at the Morley’s fast food joint in London’s Finsbury Park, helmeted delivery guys grab orders of fried chicken, chicken burgers and fries. A young man in gray sweats pops in while leaving his cobalt blue coupe idling out front, and Cheryl Cole’s 2009 hit Fight for This Love pumps out. It’s a typical Morley’s scene. Except for one thing: Finsbury Park is in north London. And for decades, the local chain only ever opened and operated new franchises south of the Thames.

Since it was founded in 1985 by Sri Lankan immigrant Indran Selvendran, Morley’s proprietary mix of spices and crisp breading have made the place a cultural touchstone in south London. The brand has grown so strong today that chicken shops across the capital blatantly knock off Morley’s red-and-white color scheme and riff off its slogan, “Mmm … It Tastes Better.”