Popeyes facts for kids
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Trade name
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Popeyes |
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Formerly
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Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits |
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Genre | Fast food |
| Founded | June 12, 1972 (as Chicken on the Run) Arabi, Louisiana, United States |
| Founder | Al Copeland |
| Headquarters |
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United States
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Number of locations
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 3,705 (2021) |
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Area served
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List
United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, Canada, Cayman Islands, Mexico, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cyprus, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, India, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Palestine, Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippines, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, United Kingdom, Brazil, France, soon Bangladesh, soon Kazakhstan, soon Poland
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| Products | |
| Revenue |
US$ 579 million (2021) US$ 5.51 billion (system-wide sales) |
| US$ 228 million (2021) |
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Number of employees
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2,130 (December 2015) |
| Parent | Restaurant Brands International (2017–present) |
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. is a popular American fast-food chain. It is also known simply as Popeyes. The company started in 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Today, its main office is in Miami, Florida. Popeyes is part of a bigger company called Restaurant Brands International. In 2021, Popeyes had over 3,700 restaurants. You can find them in more than 46 states in the U.S. and in over 30 countries around the world. Most Popeyes restaurants are owned by people who have a special agreement with the company, called a franchise.
Contents
History of Popeyes
Popeyes first opened its doors on June 12, 1972. It was in a town called Arabi, near New Orleans, Louisiana. The first name of the restaurant was "Chicken on the Run." The owner, Al Copeland, wanted to compete with KFC. But his first restaurant didn't do very well.
Just four days later, Al Copeland reopened his restaurant. He changed the name to "Popeyes Mighty Good Chicken." By 1975, it was called "Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken." In 1976, Copeland started letting other people open Popeyes restaurants. This is called franchising. The first franchised Popeyes opened in Louisiana.
Popeyes grew quickly. It opened its first restaurant in Canada in 1984. By 1985, there were 500 Popeyes restaurants!
Later, in 1991, the company had some money problems. It had to go through a process called bankruptcy protection. This helped the company reorganize its debts. In 1992, a new company was formed called America's Favorite Chicken Company, Inc. (AFC). This company became the new owner of Popeyes.
In 2000, Popeyes planned to open 35 new restaurants in Australia. These were all going to be in Sydney. In 2014, Popeyes bought back the rights to its special seasonings and recipes. These had been owned by another company. This meant Popeyes had full control over its famous flavors again.
Popeyes Joins Restaurant Brands International
On February 21, 2017, a big company called Restaurant Brands International (RBI) announced it would buy Popeyes. RBI also owns other well-known fast-food chains like Burger King and Tim Hortons. The deal was completed on March 27, 2017. RBI bought Popeyes for about $1.8 billion.
How Popeyes Got Its Name
The founder, Al Copeland, said he named Popeyes after a movie character. He said it was named after Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle. This detective character was played by Gene Hackman in the 1971 movie The French Connection. This movie came out a year before Popeyes started.
However, many people thought the name came from the famous cartoon character, Popeye the Sailor. In fact, Popeyes used the cartoon character in its marketing for 35 years. Popeye the Sailor appeared on their food packaging and even on racing boats! In 2012, Popeyes stopped using the Popeye the Sailor character in its ads.
You might notice that the name is spelled "Popeyes" without an apostrophe. Al Copeland joked that he was "too poor" to afford an apostrophe!
What Popeyes Serves
Popeyes is famous for its fried chicken. You can get it in mild or spicy flavors. They also have many tasty side dishes. Some popular sides include red beans and rice, Cajun fries, mashed potatoes with gravy, macaroni & cheese, biscuits, and coleslaw.
Besides chicken, Popeyes also serves seafood. You can find shrimp and catfish on their menu. Over the years, Popeyes has added new items. In 2011, they offered a special Fried Turducken sandwich for Thanksgiving. In 2013, they had fried chicken strips dipped in waffle batter. In 2021, they introduced a flounder fish sandwich.
The Famous Chicken Sandwich
In August 2019, Popeyes launched a new chicken sandwich. It was made to compete with other popular chicken sandwiches, like the one from Chick-fil-A. The sandwich quickly became super popular!
Popeyes started a marketing campaign with a tweet on social media. This tweet made the sandwich go viral. Soon, almost every other fast-food chain started talking about their own chicken sandwiches. This led to something called the "Chicken Sandwich Wars" in the fast-food world.
The new sandwich was so popular that Popeyes stores often sold out. People waited in long lines just to get one! Popeyes had planned to have enough sandwiches until the end of September. But they sold out in less than two weeks. On August 27, 2019, Popeyes announced they had officially sold out across the country. The sandwich returned to stores on November 3, 2019.
The Popeyes chicken sandwich has buttermilk-battered white meat chicken. It comes on a brioche bun with pickles and mayonnaise or a spicy Cajun spread.
Style and Marketing
Popeyes restaurants often have a bright orange and white look on the outside. In the past, some older locations had black lava rock walls.
Popeyes uses music and jingles in its TV and radio ads. They often use New Orleans-style music. Their most famous jingle is "Love That Chicken from Popeyes." A famous musician named Dr. John sang this jingle.
In 2009, Popeyes introduced a character named "Annie the Chicken Queen." She is a fictional Popeyes chef played by an actress. She is meant to be a fun and honest character.
Popeyes has also sponsored race car drivers in NASCAR races. They started doing this in 2000.
Popeyes Around the World
Popeyes has restaurants in many countries outside the United States. Some of these locations are on U.S. military bases and are not open to everyone.
Popeyes first came to the Philippines in 2001. It left for a while but came back in 2018. In 2020, Popeyes opened its first store in China. In 2021, they announced plans to open restaurants in Mexico and the United Kingdom. The first UK restaurant opened in November 2021.
Popeyes also opened its first restaurant in India in 2021. It also opened in Sri Lanka in 2021. In 2022, Popeyes opened its first store in Romania. Popeyes also returned to Indonesia in 2022 after being away for some years. In 2024, Popeyes announced plans to open stores in New Zealand and Taiwan.
See also
- Cheryl Bachelder
- List of fast-food chicken restaurants
Images for kids
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A Popeyes restaurant in a shopping mall in Trabzon, Turkey.
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A Popeyes restaurant in Arcovia City, Philippines.
