Albania, Andorra, Bahamas, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus[3], Czech Republic[4], Dominican Republic, France, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait[5], Lebanon, Mexico, New Zealand, Palestine, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam[6]
Popeyes was formed inArabi, Louisiana, a suburb ofNew Orleans, Louisiana, inSt. Bernard Parish. It first opened its doors on June 12, 1972, as "Chicken on the Run".[12][14] OwnerAl Copeland (1944–2008) wanted to compete withKentucky Fried Chicken,[15] but his restaurant failed after several months.[12][15] Copeland reopened the restaurant four days later as Popeyes Mighty Good Chicken.[15] By 1975, the company had been renamed as Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken.[15] Copeland started franchising his restaurant in 1976, beginning in Louisiana. The chain expanded to Canada in 1984, and opened its 500th restaurant in 1985.[12] B. P. Newman ofLaredo, Texas, acquired several franchises in Texas and surrounding states. Two hundred additional locations were added during a period of slower expansion.[citation needed]
By 1990, Copeland Enterprises was in default on $391 million in debts it had taken on in its 1989 purchase ofChurch's, a rival fast food chain also focusing in Southernfried chicken, and by April 1991, the company filed forbankruptcy protection.[16][17] In October 1992, the court approved a plan by a group of Copeland's creditors that resulted in the creation of America's Favorite Chicken Company, Inc. (AFC) to serve as the new parent company for Popeyes and Church's.[18] AFC went public in 2001 withinitial public offering (IPO) of $142,818,479, and began trading on theNASDAQ under ticker symbol AFCE.[19] On December 29, 2004, AFC sold Church's toArcapita (formerly Crescent Capital Investments) retaining Popeyes.[citation needed]
On August 8, 2000, Popeyes announced a franchise development plan/agreement that included 35 new restaurant locations around Australia in a bid to solidify their presence within the Asia Pacific region. All were to be located in Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales.[20]
On January 21, 2014, AFC was renamed as Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., and its NASDAQ ticker symbol was changed to PLKI.
On June 17, 2014, Popeyes announced it had re-acquired full control of its seasonings, recipes, and other proprietary food preparation techniques from Diversified Foods & Seasonings, which remained under the control of Al Copeland and his estate after the creditor sale of Popeyes to AFC. Popeyes had continued to license the seasonings, recipes, and techniques from DF&S for a yearly 'spice royalty', before buying them outright for $43 million. DF&S remains the main supplier for Popeyes until at least 2029.[21]
Acquisition by Restaurant Brands International
On February 21, 2017,Restaurant Brands International announced a deal to buy Popeyes for US$1.8 billion.[22] On March 27, 2017, the deal closed with RBI purchasing Popeyes at $79 per share via Orange, Inc, an indirect subsidiary of RBI.[23]
However, the company's early brand became deeply tied to the cartoon star with its sponsorship of thePopeye & Pals children's show in New Orleans, and the character appeared on items from packaging to racing boats.[citation needed]
The chain later acquired rights to use Popeye the Sailor for marketing and used this for 35 years.[26] In late November 2012, AFC announced the mutual termination of their licensing contract withKing Features Syndicate, effectively ending their association with the Popeye characters.[27]
The name is spelled "Popeyes", without theapostrophe commonly used by other restaurant chains such asMcDonald's andHardee's. Copeland claimed facetiously that he was "too poor" to afford an apostrophe.[24]
Products
Popeyes mild chicken
Popeyes serves chicken dishes in mild and spicy flavors and offers sides such as red beans and rice,Cajun fries, mashed potatoes with Cajun-style gravy,Cajun rice,macaroni and cheese,coleslaw, andbiscuits. In addition to chicken, Popeyes also serves seafood entrées such as shrimp and catfish.[28] On October 30, 2006, AFC announced that Popeyes planned to introduce atrans fat-free biscuit as well as french fries containing one gram of trans fat by year-end.[29] On November 18, 2011, AFC announced that, for theThanksgiving holiday, Popeyes would release a Fried Turducken sandwich that would show off the first everTurducken patty. On July 29, 2013, AFC began offering a special entree of fried chicken strips dipped in waffle batter, which was already a proven success in some markets.[30] For a limited time only in 2017, Popeyes offered "Sweet and Crunchy" chicken, fried chicken tenders coated in shortbread cookie breading.[31] In 2021, Popeyes introduced a flounder sandwich.[32]
Chicken sandwich
Popeyes Chicken Sandwich (Spicy)
Popeyes began selling a chicken sandwich in August 2019 to compete withChick-fil-A's similar flagship sandwich. The company first launched the sandwich at Long Beach restaurant Sweet Dixie Kitchen, a locally-famous spot that had become known for reselling fried chicken that it had purchased at Popeyes.[33][34] The sandwich launched nationwide to all locations in the US on August 12, 2019, but had some advance openings at the beginning of 2019.[33]
The marketing campaign, designed by advertising agency GSD&M started on August 12, 2019, with a tweet on Popeyes' Twitter feed. The new sandwich went viral immediately andprompted responses from nearly every fast food chain includingMcDonald's, Chick-Fil-A, andWendy's.[35][36] Popeyes reported a 103% increase in traffic in the days following the launch of the sandwich.[37] The sandwich helped Popeyes gather an estimated $23 million in free publicity since its launch.[38] Popeyes stores routinely sold out of the sandwich and experienced long lines,[39] and a man outside of a Maryland Popeyes chain was stabbed to death during a dispute over cutting in line for a chicken sandwich.[40] Locations across the US were supposed to have enough materials to last them until the end of September. Instead, restaurants were almost entirely sold out after less than two weeks.[41] On August 27, approximately two weeks after the launch, Popeyes announced that it had officially sold out of the chicken sandwich across the country.[42] One person in Tennessee sued Popeyes, claiming that his inability to get the sandwich has caused him to be "hustled out of money", making Popeyes guilty of "false advertising" along with "deceptive business practices".[43] On October 28, 2019, Popeyes announced that the chicken sandwich would return to locations across the US on November 3.[44]Popeyes chicken sandwich is made of buttermilk-battered white meat on a brioche bun along with pickles and mayonnaise or spicy Cajun spread.[45]
In September 2020, Popeyes' chicken sandwich went on sale in Canada.[46]
Style and marketing
Coleslaw from Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
The restaurants' exteriors have a distinctive orange and white color scheme. The original locations had a black lava rock exterior with a red shingled roof. Most older locations have covered the rock exterior to conform with the current orange stucco appearance. During the 1970s and 1980s, the company occasionally licensed characters from thePopeye comic strip to use in its advertising. TV and radio ads often use New Orleans-style music, along with the trademark "Love That Chicken" jingle[47] sung by New Orleansfunk andR&B musicianDr. John.
In 2009, Popeyes introduced "Annie the Chicken Queen", a fictitious, upbeat,African-American Popeyes chef played by actressDeidrie Henry.[48] The character is meant to be "honest, vibrant, youthful and authentic" according to Dick Lynch, Popeyes Chief Marketing Officer. "Everyone has a relative or a good friend who will give it to them straight, and that's what Annie is all about", Lynch said.[49]
Popeyes arrived in thePhilippines in 2001 but left in 2007 due to a problem with the franchisor;[57][58][59] it later returned with a new deal with Kuya J Group in 2018 and opened its first branch inPasig on May 19, 2019.[60][61] Popeyes opened their first store inChina on May 15, 2020,[62] and in March 2021, it announced plans to open stores inMexico[63] and theUnited Kingdom,[64] with the first restaurant in the latter country, locating atWestfield Stratford City opening on November 20, 2021.[65] Restaurant Brands International signed a master franchise and development agreement with Indian companyJubilant FoodWorks on March 24, 2021, to operate Popeyes restaurants inIndia,Bangladesh,Nepal andBhutan.[66][67] The first Popeyes restaurant inSouth Asia opened inBambalapitiya, Sri Lanka, on February 25, 2021.
In December 2020, Popeyes announced that it would be closing all locations inSouth Korea due to poor sales partially attributed to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[68][69] In October 2021, Popeyes signed an agreement with Romanian company Sterling Cruise to open 90 restaurants inRomania in the next 10 years; the first one opened on April 9, 2022.[70] In January 2022, Popeyes signed an agreement with South Korean Tuna Supplier Shilla International to open again in South Korea; the first one opened in January 2023.
Popeyes opened its first store inIndonesia in 2000 under PT Popeyes Chicken Seafood Indonesia (later taken over by PT Popindo Selera Prima in 2002) and had opened its store inJakarta,Bandung,Yogyakarta,Surabaya,Medan andSamarinda, but the last store in Puri Indah Mall,West Jakarta closed in 2011. Popeyes returned to Indonesia under PT Sari Chicken Indonesia, an affiliate of Mitra Adiperkasa and opened its first store in Skyline Building,Central Jakarta on December 23, 2022.[71]
In August 2023, British private equity firmTDR Capital invested£50 million into Popeyes UK.[72][73][74] In 2024, Popeyes announced that it would be opening stores inNew Zealand andTaiwan later that year.[75][76] It forced a small fish and chip shop called Popeye's Takeaways inFeilding, New Zealand, to change its name although the shop does not sell fried chicken.[77][78] The first location inParaguay was opened in December 2025.[79][80] The first German location, which will be accessible to the general public and is not located on a military base, is scheduled to open in the spring of 2026. It will be located on the arrivals level of the Düsseldorf Airport. It will be operated by Lagardère Travel Retail Deutschland.[81]
^"About Popeyes". Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. RetrievedSeptember 12, 2017.
^Engelberg, Adrian (September 24, 1990). "Bob & Gee Tucker: Community Service Important for Married Consulting Team".New Orleans CityBusiness.11 (6): 23C.
^abcd"Our Story". Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. RetrievedSeptember 12, 2017.
^Hoffman, Ken, "Chicken Cordon Bleu est TACO tres magnifique", King Features Syndicate, published inThe Gazette of Cedar Rapids-Iowa City, Iowa, June 19, 1998, p. 2, ("chain was named for Popeye Doyle, the cop inThe French Connection")Archived online at newsbank.comArchived July 11, 2018, at theWayback Machine. Retrieved March 27, 2008
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