News
US chicken chain Popeyes to open drive-thru restaurants in the UK
By Joanna Sarah-Freedman
15 Nov 2022
2m
US fried chicken chain, Popeyes, is expanding its offering across the UK.
Yup, we’ve all seen the hype Popeyes has amassed overseas, and it’s been the same story since it opened its first restaurant in London, with branches in Nottingham, Gateshead, and Oxford following shortly afterwards.
But now, the Famous Louisiana Kitchen has announced plans to set up shop further across the UK – specifically, opening 20 more restaurants over the next year.
This means there will be 31 sites for people to visit overall. Popeyes for everyone!
Popeyes will be cropping up around the UK (Credit: Popeyes)
The fast food giant has announced that Cambridge, Croydon and Reading are the next locations to be opened, in early 2023.
Then, chicken lovers in Rotherham, Cardiff and Glasgow will also be able to get their fill.
As well as these new restaurants, there are set to be a number of delivery kitchens opening, in the likes of Brent Cross and Dulwich. These will join pre-existing kitchens in Maida Vale, Whitechapel, Bermondsey, and Battersea.
And drive-thrus will be landing shortly after that, to rival the likes of McDonald’s, with the first dropping in at Rotherham’s Parkgate Shopping Park.
Popeyes’ Famous Luisiana Chicken is coming to the UK (Credit: Popeyes)
Speaking about the expansion, Tom Crowley, CEO at Popeyes UK, said: “There is a pattern emerging now at all our openings with people queuing through the night to be the first in line on opening day.
“It’s fantastic to see how well we are being received right across the UK.
“As well as the new high street restaurants and delivery kitchens, we’re also very excited to announce that in 2023, we’ll be opening a raft of drive-thru locations, with the first likely to be in Rotherham at Parkgate Shopping Park.
“Consumer demand has been high for a drive-thru ever since we landed in the UK, so it feels like a real milestone for us.
Popeyes is beloved for its fried chicken over in the States (Credit: Popeyes)
“We’ve carefully planned our site acquisition strategy in line with where we’re seeing most demand from our customers, and it’s great to see it coming to life.
“We’re working at pace currently on opening our Liverpool, Brighton and Leicester branches before the end of the year – but we always have one eye on the future and are looking forward to continuing sharing our expansion plans.”
