Popeyes - wikipedia Popeyes Popeyes The 2008 -- present logo Type Subsidiary Industry Restaurants Genre Fast food Founded June 12, 1972 ; 45 years ago ( 1972 - 06 - 12 ) ( as Chicken on the Run ) Arabi, Louisiana, U.S. Headquarters Dunwoody, Georgia, U.S. Number of locations 2,600 ( 2016 ) Key people Al Copeland Roosevelt Davis Products Fried chicken Cajun cuisine Seafood Vegetables Biscuits Revenue US $ 206 million ( 2013 ) Number of employees 2,130 ( Dec 2015 ) Parent Restaurant Brands International ( 2017 -- present ) Website www.Popeyes.com Popeyes is an American multinational chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants founded in 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Since 2008, its full brand name is Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. and it was formerly named Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and 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 '', after KFC. More than 2,600 Popeyes restaurants are 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. Contents 1 History 1.1 Name 1.2 Acquisition by Restaurant Brands International 2 Products 3 Style and marketing 4 Number of franchises 5 See also 6 References 7 External links History Early logo prior to 2008 Popeyes restaurant in Houston, Texas, United States Popeyes Mighty Chicken was founded in Arabi, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans in St. Bernard Parish. It first opened its doors on June 12, 1972, as `` Chicken on the Run ''. Owner Al Copeland wanted to compete with Kentucky Fried Chicken. As the company 's history states, it 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. Over the next ten years it added approximately 500 outlets. B.P. Newman of Laredo, Texas, acquired several 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, another fast food chain specializing in chicken. 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. On June 17, 2014, Popeyes announced it had re-acquired full control of its seasonings, recipes, and other proprietary food preparation techniques from Diversified Foods & Seasonings, which remained under the control of Al Copeland and his estate after the creditor sale of Popeyes to AFC. Popeyes had continued to license the seasonings, recipes, and techniques from DF&S for a yearly ' spice royalty ', before buying them outright for $43 million. DFS remains the main supplier for Popeyes until at least 2029. As of 2017, Popeyes has over 2,600 restaurants worldwide according to its website. Name Alvin C. Copeland claimed he named the stores after the fictional detective Jimmy `` Popeye '' Doyle in the movie The French Connection and not the comic strip and cartoon character Popeye the Sailor. The name is spelled `` Popeyes '' without the apostrophe used by other restaurant chains such as McDonald 's and Hardee 's. Copeland claimed 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 cartoon star 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 2006, AFC announced the mutual termination of their licensing contract with King Features Syndicate, effectively ending their association with the Popeye characters. Acquisition by restaurant Brands International On February 21, 2017, Restaurant Brands International announced a deal to buy Popeyes for US $1.8 billion. On March 27, 2017, the deal closed with RBI purchasing Popeyes at $79 per share via Orange, Inc, an indirect subsidiary of RBI. Products Popeyes mild chicken Popeyes serves chicken dishes in mild and spicy flavors and offers sides such as red beans and rice, Cajun fries, mashed potatoes with Cajun - style gravy, Cajun rice, macaroni & cheese, and coleslaw. In addition to fried chicken, other entree items include a chicken - and - sausage jambalaya and po ' boy sandwiches. Most combo meals come with a side order, drink, and a biscuit. On October 30, 2006, AFC announced that Popeyes planned to introduce a trans fat - free biscuit as well as french fries containing one gram of trans fat by year - end. On November 18, 2011, AFC announced that, for the Thanksgiving holiday, Popeyes would release a Fried Turducken sandwich that would show off the first ever Turducken patty. On July 29, 2013, AFC began offering a special entree of fried chicken strips dipped in waffle batter, which was already a proven success in some markets. For a limited time only in 2017, Popeyes offered `` Sweet and Crunchy '' chicken, fried chicken tenders coated in shortbread cookie breading. Style and marketing Coleslaw from Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits restaurant The restaurants have a distinctive red - and - yellow color scheme. The original locations had a black lava rock exterior with a red shingled roof. Most older locations have covered the rock exterior to conform with the current yellow stucco appearance. During the 1970s and 1980s, the company occasionally licensed characters from the Popeye comic strip to use in its advertising. TV and radio ads often use New Orleans - style music, along with the trademark `` Love That Chicken '' jingle sung by New Orleans funk and R&B musician Dr. John. In 2009, Popeyes introduced `` Annie the Chicken Queen '', a fictitious, upbeat, African - American Popeyes chef. The character is meant to be `` honest, vibrant, youthful and authentic '' according to Dick Lynch, Popeyes Chief Marketing Officer. `` Everyone has a relative or a good friend who will give it to them straight, and that 's what the Annie is all about '', Lynch said. Number of franchises Popeyes maintains a `` Hall of Fame '' of its franchise holders. Among the inductees is Morgan W. Walker, Jr. ( 1928 -- 2008 ), originally from Alexandria, Louisiana, who held a franchise in the Washington, D.C., area from 1979 to 2007. Some international franchises, such as the ones located in Germany, France, and Japan, are only located on U.S. military installations and are generally not accessible to the local civilian public. Year United States Canada Outside the United States and Canada Company - owned 2003 1,324 20 320 95 1,382 28 347 67 2005 1,427 28 315 56 2006 1,459 31 306 50 2007 1,507 34 276 61 2008 1,527 39 301 55 2009 1,539 42 325 37 1,533 42 333 37 Source : Entrepreneur.com See also Cheryl Bachelder List of fast - food chicken restaurants References ^ Jump up to : Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. Form 10 - K, Securities and Exchange Commission, February 26, 2014 Jump up ^ `` Our Story ''. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. Retrieved September 22, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` About Popeyes ''. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. Retrieved September 12, 2017. Jump up ^ Engelberg, Adrian ( September 24, 1990 ). `` Bob & Gee Tucker : Community Service Important for Married Consulting Team ''. New Orleans CityBusiness. 11 ( 6 ) : 23C. Jump up ^ `` Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits Offers ' A Side of Hope, ' to America 's Hungry Families '' ( Press release ). Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Hoovers / Dun & Bradstreet : Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits ''. Hoovers. Archived from the original on July 7, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Popeyes Story ''. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. Retrieved September 12, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Answers - The Most Trusted Place for Answering Life 's Questions ''. Archived from the original on June 24, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017. Jump up ^ AFC Enterprises Initial Public Offering Jump up ^ Wong, Vanessa ( June 17, 2014 ). `` Popeyes Buys Its Recipes for $43 Million. Wait, Popeyes Did n't Own Its Recipes ? ''. Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved June 18, 2014. ^ Jump up to : Martin, Douglas. `` Al Copeland, a Restaurateur Known for Spice and Speed, Dies at 64 ''. The New York Times, March 25, 2008 Jump up ^ Hoffman, Ken, `` Chicken Cordon Bleu est TACO tres magnifique '', King Features Syndicate, published in The Gazette of Cedar Rapids - Iowa City, Iowa, June 19, 1998, p. 2, ( `` chain was named for Popeye Doyle, the cop in The French Connection '' ) Archived online at newsbank.com. Retrieved March 27, 2008 Jump up ^ `` Popeyes ditches ex-spinach - eating pitchman '', The Atlanta Journal - Constitution, November 26, 2013. Jump up ^ Silva Laughlin, Luaren ( February 21, 2017 ). `` Restaurant Brands Takes a Bite Out of Popeyes ''. The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Restaurant Brands International Inc. Announces Successful Completion of its Tender Offer to Purchase All of the Outstanding Shares of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc '' ( Press release ) -- via PR Newswire. Jump up ^ Dow Jones newsire ( Oct. 31, 2006 ) : `` AFC 's Popeyes Chicken Plans Low Trans - Fat French Fries '', by Richard Gibson Archived September 27, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Popeyes Debuts Chicken Waffle Tenders, World Wonders Why No One Else Thought Of That Already ''. The Huffington Post. July 24, 2013. Retrieved September 6, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Popeyes is now frying chicken in cookie batter -- here 's the flavor verdict ''. AOL. Retrieved June 22, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Popeyes Chicken ''. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. Retrieved February 22, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Popeyes keeps it real with new advertising campaign '' ( Press release ). Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. March 30, 2009. Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Franchise Information ''. Entrepreneur. Retrieved February 22, 2017. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits restaurants. Official website Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits at the Wayback Machine ( archived November 11, 1998 ) MenuMasters 1999 Award : `` Best Menu / Line Extension : Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits at the Wayback Machine ( archived November 1, 2003 ) Chicken - based restaurant chains Global Chester 's Chicken Cottage Church 's / Texas Chicken Dixy Chicken Kenny Rogers Roasters KFC Nando 's Pollo Campero Popeyes Southern Fried Chicken Wienerwald Regional Africa Chicken Licken ( ZA ) Chicken Republic ( NG ) Tastee Fried Chicken ( NG ) Asia Al Baik ( SA ) Al Tazaj ( SA ) Bacolod Chicken Inasal ( PH ) Bonchon Chicken ( KR ) California Fried Chicken ( ID ) The Chicken Rice Shop ( MY ) Dicos ( CN ) Home Original Chicken ( CN ) Jollibee ( PH ) KLG ( TW ) Kyochon ( KR ) Marrybrown ( MY ) Max 's of Manila ( PH ) Mang Inasal ( PH ) Pelicana Chicken ( KR ) SCR ( MY ) TKK Fried Chicken ( TW ) Europe Chicken Cottage ( UK ) Dixy Chicken ( UK ) Morley 's ( UK ) Sam 's Chicken ( UK ) Southern Fried Chicken ( UK ) North America Boston Market Bojangles ' ( US ) Brown 's Chicken & Pasta ( US ) Buffalo Wild Wings Buffalo Wings & Rings Bush 's Chicken ( US ) Chefette ( BB ) Chick - fil - A ( US ) Chicken Express ( US ) Chicken in the Rough ( US ) Chicken Salad Chick ( US ) Cluck - U ( US ) Dixie Lee ( CA ) El Pollo Loco ( US / MX ) Foosackly 's ( US ) Golden Chick ( US ) Golden Skillet ( US ) Guthrie 's Harold 's Chicken Shack Juan Pollo ( US ) Kyochon Lee 's Famous Louisiana Famous Fried Chicken Mary Brown 's ( CA ) Mrs. Winner 's Pioneer Chicken Pollo Palenque Pollo Tropical ( US ) Quaker Steak & Lube Raising Cane 's ( US ) Ranch One Roscoe 's Royal Castle ( TT ) Roy Rogers ( US ) Scores St - Hubert ( CA ) Smithfield 's ( US ) Swiss Chalet ( CA ) Tip - Top Wild Wing Wingstop WingStreet PDQ ( US ) Wing Zone ( US ) Zankou Chicken ( US ) Zaxby 's ( US ) Oceania Chicken Treat ( AU ) Chooks Fresh & Tasty ( AU ) Oporto ( AU ) Red Rooster ( AU ) South and Central America Pollos Frisby ( CO ) Rostipollos ( CR ) List of chicken restaurants Fast food and fast casual restaurant chains in the United States Chicken chains Coffeehouse chains Pizza chains Hamburgers A&W Arctic Circle Back Yard Big Boy BurgerFi Burger King Carl 's Jr. Checkers / Rally 's Cook Out Cheeburger Cheeburger Dairy Queen Fatburger Five Guys Freddy 's Fuddruckers The Habit Hardee 's Hwy 55 In - N - Out Jack in the Box Johnny Rockets Krystal McDonald 's Red Robin Roy Rogers Shake Shack Smashburger Sonic Steak ' n Shake Wayback Wendy 's Whataburger White Castle Asian L&L Hawaiian Barbecue Manchu Wok Panda Express Pei Wei Asian Diner P.F. 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Orange Julius Peet 's Planet Smoothie Robeks Seattle 's Best Coffee Smoothie King Starbucks Teavana Tropical Smoothie Cafe Tully 's Frozen desserts Baskin - Robbins Ben & Jerry 's Braum 's Bruster 's Carvel Cold Stone Culver 's Dairy Queen Dippin ' Dots Fosters Freeze Friendly 's Golden Spoon Graeter 's Häagen - Dazs Handel 's Kiwi Yogurt MaggieMoo 's Marble Slab Menchie 's Pinkberry Red Mango Rita 's Sweet Frog Tastee - Freez TCBY Tropical Sno Tutti Frutti Yogen Früz Yogurtland Hot dogs Hot Dog on a Stick Nathan 's Famous Portillo 's Wienerschnitzel Mexican - style / Tex - Mex Baja Fresh Cafe Rio Chipotle Del Taco El Pollo Loco Freebirds Green / Red Burrito La Salsa Moe 's Pancheros Qdoba Rubio 's Taco Bell Taco Bueno Taco Cabana Taco del Mar Taco John 's Taco Mayo Taco Time Tijuana Flats Wahoo 's Fish Taco Other Fazoli 's Noodles & Company Skyline Chili Sandwiches Arby 's Atlanta Bread Blimpie Capriotti 's Charley 's Così Cousins D'Angelo Daphne 's Erbert & Gerbert 's Firehouse Subs Great Wraps Jason 's Jerry 's Subs Jersey Mike 's Jimmy John 's Lee 's Sandwiches Lenny 's Sub McAlister 's Deli Miami Subs Newk 's Eatery Penn Station Port of Subs Potbelly Primo Hoagies Quiznos Rax Sandella 's Schlotzsky 's Steak Escape Subway Togo 's Tubby 's Tudor 's Biscuit World Which Wich ? Seafood Arthur Treacher 's Captain D 's H. Salt Esquire Ivar 's Long John Silver 's Skippers Seafood & Chowder House Defunct Bresler 's Brigham 's Burger Chef Carrols D'Lites Druther 's Henry 's Hamburgers Hot ' n Now Hot Sam Pretzels Naugles Red Barn Sandy 's White Tower Zantigo Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Popeyes&oldid=832875828 '' Categories : Companies based in Sandy Springs, Georgia American companies established in 1972 Fast - food chains of Canada Fast - food chains of the United States Fast - food franchises Fast - food poultry restaurants Restaurant chains in the United States Fast - food chains of Singapore 1972 establishments in Louisiana 2017 mergers and acquisitions Deep fried foods Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from March 2018 Articles with permanently dead external links Webarchive template wayback links Use mdy dates from September 2017 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2015 Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2017 All articles containing potentially dated statements Commons category with local link different than on Wikidata Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Simple English Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 28 March 2018, at 13 : 24. 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Question: where did the name popeyes chicken come from
Answer: the fictional detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in the movie The French Connection