Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits (usually called just Popeyes, otherwise known as Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken)i s a chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants owned since 1993 by the Atlanta-based AFC Enterprises (originally the America's Favorite Chicken Company). As of 2006, according to [citation needed], Popeyes is the second-largest "quick-service chicken restaurant group, measured by number of units", with more than 1,800 restaurants in more than 40 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 20 countries worldwide including Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Canada, Mexico and Panama. About 30 locations are company-owned, the rest franchised.[1]
File:Popeyes2.jpg | |
Company type | owned by AFC Enterprises |
---|---|
Industry | Fast food |
Founded | New Orleans, Louisiana 1972 |
Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia |
Key people | Al Copeland |
Products | Fried chicken, Cajun foods, biscuits |
Revenue | $376 Million |
Website | www.popeyes.com |
History
Popeyes first opened in Arabi, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans in 1972 as "Chicken on the Run," owned by Al Copeland. The name was changed shortly afterwards, after the fictional detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in the movie The French Connection (in turn based on a real detective Eddie Egan, whose nickname did not derive from the cartoon character Popeye the Sailor). As the company's official history states, Copeland sold "traditional mild fried chicken [but] business was slow, and Copeland realized that he'd have to sell a spicier alternative to his standard chicken recipe if he wanted to impress flavor-seeking New Orleanians. Copeland had already been experimenting with the flavorful Cajun recipes he'd been enjoying all his life and soon reopened his restaurant as 'Popeyes', named after the character Popeye Doyle...."
The chain would later license the namesake cartoon character for use as a promotional tool,[citation needed] which added to the confusion as to the source, though as of 2006 the company's history page on its website omits any mention of the cartoon Popeye.
Copeland began franchising his restaurant in 1976, beginning in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, adding approximately 500 outlets over the next 10 years, followed by 200 more afterward during a period of slower expansion. Copeland became a New Orleans icon due to his flamboyant lifestyle, including his eponymous power boat racing teams, and his annual Christmas light show at his mansion located in an upscale neighborhood in Metairie.
In 1989, Popeyes, then the third-largest chicken chain, merged with Church's Chicken, the second largest,[2] though parent company AFC Enterprises continued to operate the chain separately. On December 29, 2004, AFC sold Church's to Arcapita (formerly Crescent Capital Investments), retaining Popeyes.
On October 30, 2006, AFC announced that Popeyes planned to introduce a trans fat-free biscuit as well as french fries containing one gram of trans fat by year-end.[3]
On January 5, 2007, the restaurants in McAllen, Texas, and all around the Rio Grande Valley suddenly closed down without any warnings or notifications. The franchise tried to communicate with the 10 Popeyes restaurants but to no avail. It was later discovered that all 10 restaurants were sold out to Church's Chicken, however the main corporate franchise denied knowing anything about it. "We are still reviewing our options," stated a spokeswoman for Popeyes. Closing the restaurants would be in violation of the local franchisee's agreement. The fate of the former locations is still undecided even though construction crews are working in remodeling the sites.[4]
This article documents a current event. Information may change rapidly and initial news reports may be unreliable. The latest updates to this article may not reflect the most current information. (April 2007) |
Popeyes filed a lawsuit against Church's Chicken over the sudden buy-out of all 10 Popeyes restaurants. "What Church’s chose to do, I do believe, was not honest competition," said Ken Keymer, Chief Executive Officer of AFC Enterprises. The lawsuit is set for $20 million and was filed February 28, 2007. Popeyes accuses Church's of "collusion," creating an "intentional, malicious, and tortious scheme" to break a franchise agreement, and using underhanded tactics to discredit Popeyes and steal its customers.[5]
Style and marketing
The restaurants have a distinctive red and yellow color scheme. TV and radio ads often use New Orleans style music, along with the trademark Love That Chicken jingle[6] sung by New Orleans funk and R&B musician Dr. John.
Number of franchises
Years | U.S. | Canada | International | Company-owned |
---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | 1,259 | 14 | 289 | 93 |
2003 | 1,324 | 20 | 320 | 95 |
2004 | 1,382 | 28 | 347 | 67 |
2005 | 1,427 | 28 | 315 | 56 |
Trivia
A "Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits" sign appears in the 1984 movie and comic book adaptation Supergirl, as well as in backgrounds in various DC Comics during that era.
In the 2000 movie Little Nicky, starring Adam Sandler, a demon stated "Popeyes chicken is the shiznit" before being zapped. The movie also contained the much quoted line by Sandler himself "Popeyes chicken's fuckin' awesome!"
Popeyes also received a plug in the film Rush Hour 2 (and also its trailer). Detective James Carter, on vacation in Hong Kong, is offered a live chicken by a street vendor and protests, stating "I don't like my chickens alive, I like 'em dead and deep fried. You ever heard of Popeyes?"
In the TV show Boy Meets World, in almost all of the apartments, there is a Popeyes Chicken box.
The original Popeyes Fried Chicken building in Arabi, Louisiana is now scheduled for demolition due to damage following Hurricane Katrina.
Popeyes' mashed potatoes contain liver bits, often confused for bits of ground beef.
Footnotes
- ^ Hoovers/Dun & Bradstreet: Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits
- ^ Church's Chicken official website
- ^ Dow Jones newsire (Oct. 31, 2006): "AFC's Popeyes Chicken Plans Low Trans-Fat French Fries", by Richard Gibson
- ^ http://www.themonitor.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=17327&Section=Valley
- ^ http://www.themonitor.com/onset?id=412&template=article.html
- ^ Love That Chicken lyrics and audio