The first restaurant was opened in 1981 from a small shop lot in Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Johor Bahru. The couple named their restaurant as "Marrybrown", three-syllable name, as it was perceived that the simple name has an international-concept, easy to pronounced and remembered. The three-syllable name is also common in the fast-food industry, as can be seen in KFC, McDonald's, Burger King and A&W.
