The 2008-present logo
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Subsidiary | |
Industry | Restaurants |
Genre | Fast food |
Founded | June 12, 1972 Arabi, Louisiana, U.S. |
(as Chicken on the Run)
Headquarters | Dunwoody, Georgia, U.S. |
Number of locations
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2,600 (2016) |
Key people
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Al Copeland |
Products |
Fried chicken Cajun cuisine Seafood Vegetables Biscuits |
Revenue | US$206 million (2013) |
Number of employees
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2,130 (Dec 2015) |
Parent | Restaurant Brands International (2017–present) |
Website | www.Popeyes.com |
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is an American multinational chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants founded in 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is often referred to as Popeyes and sometimes as Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits or Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits. It is currently a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International.
According to a company press release dated June 29, 2007, Popeyes is the second-largest "quick-service chicken restaurant group, measured by number of units", with more than 2,600 restaurants in more than 40 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and 30 countries worldwide. About thirty locations are company-owned, the rest franchised.
Popeyes Mighty Good Fried Chicken was first opened in Arabi, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans in St. Bernard Parish, on June 12, 1972, as "Chicken on the Run", owned by Al Copeland to compete with Kentucky Fried Chicken. As the company's history states, they sold "traditional mild fried chicken [but] business was slow, and the chicken team realized they'd have to sell a spicier alternative to their standard chicken recipe if they wanted to impress flavor-seeking New Orleanians. Copeland started franchising his restaurant in 1976, beginning in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and over the next ten years added approximately 500 outlets. B.P. Newman of Laredo, Texas, acquired various franchises in Texas and surrounding states. Two hundred additional locations were added during a period of slower expansion.
By 1990, Copeland Enterprises was in default on $391 million in debts, and in April 1991, the company filed for bankruptcy protection. 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. AFC went public in 2001 with initial public offering (IPO) of $142,818,479. On December 29, 2004, AFC sold Church's to Arcapita, formerly Crescent Capital Investments, retaining Popeyes.