Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is a chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants founded in 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Often referred to as Popeyes and sometimes as Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits or Popeyes Chicken & Seafood, It was acquired by Sandy Springs, Georgia-based AFC Enterprises, originally America's Favorite Chicken Company, in 1993.

History

Popeyes restaurant in Houston, Texas, United States

Popeyes Mighty Good Fried Chicken was first opened in Arabi, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans in St. Bernard Parish, in 1972 as "Chicken on the Run",owned by Al Copeland. As the company's official 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 five hundred 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. In 1989, Popeyes, then the third-largest chicken chain, merged with Church's Chicken, the second largest, though parent company AFC Enterprises operated the two chains separately. On December 29, 2004, AFC sold Church's to Arcapita, formerly Crescent Capital Investments, retaining Popeyes.

Name
Copeland claimed he named the stores after the fictional detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in the movie The French Connection and not the comic character Popeye the Sailor. Copeland would claim facetiously that he was "too poor" to afford an apostrophe. The chain later acquired rights to use Popeye the Sailor for marketing. The company's early brand became deeply tied to the comic character with its sponsorship of the "Popeye & Pals" children's show in New Orleans, and the character appeared on items from packaging to racing boats.

In late November 2012, AFC announced the mutual termination of their licensing contract with King Features Syndicate, effectively ending their association with the Popeye characters.