Dixie Lee Fried Chicken is a Canadian fast-food chain founded in 1964 by Ramon Leon and Douglas Walmsley in Belleville, Ontario. Originally a regional franchise, the company is now based in Kingston and Bruce Mines. In late 2024, the chain announced a major international expansion into the Middle East, India, and Far East Asia through a partnership with Timms Holding Limited. This move marks its first significant global push in over 60 years. In Canada, it continues to operate through major groups like Dixie Lee Maritimes, which manages 38 locations, and has recently seen new openings in Bancroft and a return to Prince Edward Island.
History
The first Dixie Lee restaurant opened in 1964 in Belleville, Ontario.[1]
The first Dixie Lee restaurant in New Brunswick opened its door in Caraquet, as a small take-out restaurant just past the wharf.. Following a fire during a winter storm, the restaurant changed locations locally, moving again to a bigger building in the mid-1990s. Other restaurants opened in Grande-Anse, Shippagan, Tracadie-Sheila (one of the first to include a drive-through option) and then in Lamèque.
In 1974, Alton Scott, built and operated a U.S. location in Houlton, Maine[2] which went bankrupt in 1981.