Priority development : Central America, North America, Australia, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom
Countries/Regions already covered : International

Thirty-three years ago in New Orleans, Louisiana, a taste sensation was born. What began with one small restaurant and one big idea turned into a craze that swept the nation-- and the world.

The Popeyes story began in New Orleans back in 1972, when Al Copeland opened a quick-service restaurant called “Chicken on the Run,” selling traditional mild fried chicken to the folks in small New Orleans suburb of Arabi. 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.

Cost & Fees for : United States
Franchise Fee : 30K
Personnal investment : -
Total investment : 658K-971K
Royalty fee : 5%

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 in the movie “The French Connection.” With this new concept, Copeland made his mark on the world. He found his success through the delicious New Orleans-style fried chicken that has now made Popeyes famous throughout the world. The rest, as they say, is history.

In 1976, Popeyes opened its first franchise restaurant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and over the next decade added 500 more. Thanks to great recipes, a franchise support system that was among the best in the quick-service food industry, and the help of one of the most effective jingles ever created – “Love that Chicken from Popeyes” – Popeyes continued its stunning growth, opening 200 additional restaurants over the next few years.

Popeyes opened its 500th restaurant in 1985, putting the brand on an equal footing with other national competitors.

In a nationwide taste test in 1987, Popeyes beat Church’s Chicken and KFC. As a result, Popeyes launched a campaign, "America's Fried Chicken Champ - The Spicy Taste That Can't Be Beat."

By 1989, nearly 700 Popeyes restaurants served customers throughout the U.S. Popeye had started international expansion first in Toronto, Canada in 1984. New international markets for Popeyes would open in Central America and Asia over the next few years.

In 1992, Popeyes entered a new era of growth, when America's Favorite Chicken Company, now known as AFC Enterprises, Inc., became the new parent company of Popeyes. The brand's headquarters moved to Atlanta, and AFC mounted a major re-imaging campaign to update the look of the Popeyes restaurants.

In an effort to give back to the community, Popeyes teamed with AFC to make a major commitment to Habitat for Humanity to build 200 Habitat for Humanity homes over a five-year period.

1996 was a banner year for Popeyes, as the famous mouth-watering chicken chain was named "Best Fried Chicken" in Dallas, Atlanta and New Orleans, a feat almost unheard of in the quick-service restaurant industry. As the world traveled to Atlanta for the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, Popeyes opened its 1,000th restaurant worldwide in the Sweet Auburn historic district of the city.

In 1997, nationwide events and restaurant specials kicked off a year of celebration as Popeyes reached its 25th anniversary. After 25 years of success in the restaurant industry, Popeyes returned to its Cajun roots, with a new restaurant design and menu to reflect that New Orleans zest. With the return to its heritage came a bright, colorful new look and exciting new dishes to complement the change.

The brand added the Popeyes Louisiana Legends™ line of over-rice dishes to its menu in 1998, which won a MenuMasters award in the Best Menu/Line Extension by Nation's Restaurant News the following year.

In 2001, Popeyes earned a Gold Award in the Customer Service category of the "Restaurants & Institutions Choice in Chains" awards - the second time the brand was recognized by the publication. Two years before, Popeyes earned a Gold Award in the Top Chicken Chain segment. The same year, Nation's Restaurant News honored Popeyes with its Successful Settings award for the brand's Heritage restaurant and kitchen redesign, and Entrepreneur ranked Popeyes as the number one franchise in the Chicken category.

Popeyes began 2002, its 30th anniversary year, by winning two prestigious industry awards for culinary excellence and customer service. Popeyes won Restaurant Business Magazine's 2002 Menu Strategist Award in the quick-service category. Restaurants & Institutions honored Popeyes as the gold level winner in its Choice in Chains Customer Satisfaction Awards - the third time Popeyes has been recognized by the publication.

Today, Popeyes has more than 1,818 restaurants in the U.S. and 27 international markets including Puerto Rico, Japan, Germany, Korea, United Kingdom, Mexico, Panama, Honduras, Jamaica, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Guam, Canada and Jordan.

As Popeyes approaches its 35th anniversary, the brand is enjoying a leadership revolution, resulting in fresh new ideas and solid direction which promises to propel the company further into the hearts- and stomachs- of its longtime fans.

- chicken meals
- Family meals
- Boneless chicken
- sandwichs
- Seafood
- Popeyes craver packs
- Signature sides
- Buttermilk biscuits
- Beverages
- Catering (meetings, weddings, reunions, birthdays...)

The Popeyes® Business Support Center provides state-of-the-industry franchise support for our franchisees. Everything from site acceptance to training to marketing support is just a phone call away.

To help with opening your restaurant, you'll receive support from the experts on our Market Development Team. Prior to opening your restaurant, you'll attend a training program at our state-of-the-art facility in Atlanta. We'll also send a team to help train the staff of your new restaurant.

Once your restaurant is open, you'll be assigned a single point of contact from our Franchise Support Team who will help you choose and implement business-building programs. These programs are designed by the experts in their field to provide tools to help and support you as you work to become a successful Popeyes franchisee.

Additionally, we continue to develop and implement many in-restaurant operations improvements to deliver our delicious New Orleans-style menu to our customers more efficiently than ever before. We continuously evaluate our systems, from drive-thru to back office to production and point-of-sale to provide our franchisees the best programs available to support their restaurant operations.

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Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits
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5555 Glenridge Connector N.E., #300 - GA 30342 - Atlanta - United States