Bringing the Pride since 1972
On June 15, 1972, Larry Rainosek opened the first Golden Fried Chicken at 5510 Central Ave. NW — a small restaurant tucked inside a motel near Yucca and Central. The kitchen had two 60-pound fryers and a staff of two. The menu was simple: fried chicken, French fries, dinner rolls, coleslaw, and soft drinks. Two pieces of chicken cost 49 cents.
That first month brought in $4,500 in sales. By October the store was climbing toward $7,500 a month. Something was clicking.
Around the same time, a young man named Eddie Montoya — a college dropout with no restaurant experience and, by his own description, a lot of hair — walked through the door. He would go on to shape the company for the next five decades.
The Green Chili Origin Story
Eddie was working at the Frontier Restaurant when he approached Larry about adding green chili to the menu. Larry was hesitant, but Eddie said, “Let me try it — if it doesn’t work, I’ll take the blame.” He bought 15 sacks of green chile, borrowed three BBQ grills, and spent a night roasting them with his roommate. When the dish hit the menu, it was an instant hit. Green chili has been central to everything Golden Pride does ever since.
The sweet roll was added in Golden Pride’s second year. More than 50 years later, it’s still one of the best sellers in the building.
A second location opened on East Central. The company was expanding — and the community was responding.
A third restaurant opened at 1830 Lomas Blvd., at the corner of Yale and Lomas. First-day sales were $263.64. By the end of that first month, the store had brought in over $9,100. Radio advertising launched soon after with the slogan: “The Chicken Man Returns.”
As the company grew to multiple locations, Larry created a new position: District Manager. Eddie Montoya was appointed to the role — a sign of the trust and partnership that would define the company for generations.
The original West Central location closed on October 11, 1978. The very next day, a new and larger West Central store opened at 5231 Central Ave. NW, equipped with seven big fryers. First-day sales were $679. By Friday, they were at $1,300 — and climbing fast. The store was an immediate success.
Red chili joined green chili on the menu, deepening the New Mexican flavor profile that sets Golden Pride apart from every other chicken restaurant in the country.
The day after Thanksgiving, November 23, 1984, Golden Pride opened its fourth location on Juan Tabo. Larry and Eddie spent Thanksgiving Day setting up the store — so caught up in preparations that they would have missed the holiday altogether if their wives hadn’t started calling. The Juan Tabo location would go on to become the company’s highest-volume store.
Golden Pride introduced the chicken filet sandwich (March 1985) and chicken nuggets (May 1985), expanding the menu to serve more customers and more occasions.
BBQ products were introduced across all locations in 1987. In March 1988, the breakfast burrito debuted at West Central — a move that would ultimately transform the business. Today, breakfast is Golden Pride’s highest-volume category.
On August 20, 1990, Golden Pride officially launched breakfast service at the Lomas store, opening at 7:00 a.m. Eddie Montoya parked the company van on the corner with a handmade arrow sign pointing customers to the store. Breakfast spread to all locations in the years that followed.
The same year, home delivery launched — decades before delivery apps existed.
On November 4, 1994, the company officially renamed itself Golden Pride Chicken — a name that better captured the pride the team put into every meal and the pride Albuquerque had come to feel for its homegrown restaurant.
That same year, Golden Pride began large-scale green chile roasting operations at its warehouse, processing an average of 150 bags of fresh green chile every day, six days a week during the season. At its peak, the operation employed about 50 people. Larry himself stopped by every morning to check on the crew — coffee and breakfast burritos in hand.
Golden Pride celebrated 25 years of serving Albuquerque on June 16, 1997. A quarter century in, the company had grown from a two-employee operation inside a motel to a multi-location institution woven into the fabric of the city.
The East Central location moved into a brand-new building, opening October 21, 2003.
Golden Pride received the Albuquerque Magazine award for Best Breakfast Burrito in the City five years in a row — a recognition that reflected what regulars already knew.
In 2014, founders Larry and Dorothy Rainosek were honored with an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the University of New Mexico for their outstanding contributions to the community. That year, the company sold over 528,000 dozen tortillas — more than six million individual tortillas — all made fresh in Albuquerque.
In 2016, Golden Pride partnered with community organizations to sponsor a full Thanksgiving meal for all Albuquerque Police officers and the city’s communications center.
When COVID-19 hit Albuquerque in March 2020, Golden Pride pivoted immediately — closing dining rooms, expanding drive-through operations, and keeping every employee on payroll. The team adapted with creativity and speed, adding a second drive-through lane at West Central and running outdoor cashiers to keep up with demand.
The result was remarkable. May 2020 became the highest-revenue month in company history, with over $2.5 million in gross sales across four locations. Mother’s Day weekend that year was the busiest the company had ever seen — all four drive-throughs had traffic backed up into the streets.
“We all joked that we were having Christmas sales.”
In September 2020, the Albuquerque Journal recognized Frontier/Golden Pride Inc. with the Rust Award for Excellence in Ethical Business Practice — one of the city’s most respected business honors.
“We feel that if everyone were to treat one another ethically… what a fabulous world this would be. — Dorothy Rainosek”
Golden Pride marked 50 years in business with a celebration at Glorieta Station in June 2022, honoring the founders, long-tenured employees, and the community that made it all possible.