Popeyes offers both lunch and dinner meals.
Popeyes was founded in 1972 with its first location in Arabi, Louisiana by Alvin Copeland. What you might not know is that it was actually named “Chicken on the Run” for the first few months until the restaurant closed down after not making enough revenue. It would reopen in under the name Popeyes Mighty Good Chicken just four days later!
The franchise would go on to change its name multiple times throughout the year and has been called Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits at different periods in their history.
Their founder, Alvin Copeland, says he named the company after the fictional character Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle from the movie French Connection, and not the famous cartoon character Popeye the Sailor that loves to eat spinach. Despite not being initially intended to use the cartoon character as their inspiration or branding, the company had multiple collaborations with the cartoon IP and would go on to buy the rights of using the character’s image for 35 years, a deal that only ended in 2012.
You can find more information on their official website here.
Which Countries Have a Popeyes Restaurant?
Popeyes has restaurants in over 20 countries, including the United States, Canada, China, the United Kingdom, and Mexico. They have over 3.700 locations, with almost half of them located in the US.
What is Different About Popeyes?
One of the biggest competitive advantages of Popeyes over their direct fried food competitors like Kentucky Friend Chicken (KFC) is their seafood menu, which includes fried shrimp meals.
Another important advantage of Popeyes is their staunch commitment to diversity, represented both in their hiring as well as their advertisement materials that undergo a process to ensure that at least 50% of their marketing-related hiring as well as their open corporate positions are ethnically diverse.
And as for the taste of their chicken, they leave them to marinate for a staggering 12 hours to let the chicken absorb the flavors of their original blend of spices.
Is Popeyes Spicy?
Most Popeyes items are not spicy, but they do have spicy variants on many of their items.
If you want to increase the heat on your meals, items like their Spicy Chicken Sandwich, Cajun fries, and Cajun-style gravy will be your best friends.
Popeyes offers primarily fried-food items and fried chicken is their most popular dish.
They offer fried chicken pieces, tenders, fried shrimp, nuggets, and sandwiches with fried food.
They also offer a variety of combinations from their different ingredients, like their Surf & Turf which comes with both a fried chicken sandwich and fried shrimps on the side.
Some of the sides they offer include Mac & Cheese, mashed potatoes, biscuits, and coleslaw.
Popeyes also has some delicious desserts, like their Banana Cream Cake and their Cinnamon Apple Pie.
And, of course, no fast food chain is complete without a good menu of beverages. Popeyes has all of the usual suspects – Coca-Cola, Diet Cola, lemonade, and Dr. Pepper, amongst other drinks.
How Do I Order Food at Popeyes?
Ordering at Popeyes is pretty simple! You just need to go to one of their locations and either make your order in the indoor portion of the restaurant or use their drive-thru (on the locations that have a drive-thru).
Alternatively, you can also use their website or mobile app to place your order. When ordering online, you have different ways to receive your order – you can receive it at your house or location (delivery), or choose takeout/eat-in/drive-thru to get your order at one of their locations.
Does Popeyes Cater to Vegetarians?
As a restaurant primarily offering fried meats (chicken, shrimp), it is not the ideal place for a vegetarian since their options will be very limited.
Their only vegetarian-friendly sides are in the Sides, Beverages, and Desserts parts of the menu, with items like red beans & rice, lemonades, and chocolate beignets.
Yes. Their kids’ menu is limited, however, and mainly offers 4/6pc Nuggets Kids Meal which comes with 4 or 6 pieces of chicken nuggets, your choice of a side dish, dipping sauce, and a small-sized drink.
?The other option is the Mac & Cheese Kids Meal, which replaces the nuggets with mac & cheese.
What Are Popeyes’ Opening Hours?
Popeyes opens up at 10 am and closes at midnight (12 am) on all days of the week. Some locations will close earlier at 11 pm. Make sure to check on your local Popeyes for accurate hours, since they may vary slightly from place to place.
Is Popeyes Healthy?
No. Fried chicken and fried shrimp is incredibly high in calorie, high in fat, and contains lots of trans fat which is one of the worst types of fat. They also tend to be very high in salt and their lack of healthy vegetables in their main dishes is also notable.
If you want to eat healthy at Popeyes you’d have to completely skip their fried options and go straight for their healthier items like coleslaw or their rice and beans, and nothing else.
At least the company has taken some steps in making their food healthier over the years, by reducing the trans fat in their biscuits to 0 and limiting the trans fat in their french fries portions to just a couple of grams maximum.
Not only that but they have also banned over 100 different artificial ingredients, colorings, and preservatives from their food, and have promised to be completely preservative-free by 2025.
Their chicken is also hormone-free, antibiotic-free, and steroid-free, and they’ve pledged to also make all of their eggs cage-free by 2025.
Can I Cook Popeyes at Home?
No. Popeyes does not offer any cook-at-home ingredients or sauces or preparations. The best you can do is try to replicate one of their dishes at home, though not all of their ingredients and spice mixes are public.