A new Popeyes restaurant will bring more Louisiana-style chicken to Bradenton area
A third Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant is planned for the Bradenton area.
The new restaurant would be built at 11840 State Road 64 E., Lakewood Ranch, near the Summerhouse Apartments, midway between Publix-anchored shopping centers at Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and White Eagle.
The existing Popeyes are at 3390 First St., Bradenton, and 3707 U.S. 301, Ellenton.
Popeyes, known for its Louisiana-style fried chicken and seafood meals, started small in 1972.
Alvin C. Copeland Sr., opened the first restaurant, initially called “Chicken on the Run,” in 1972 in the New Orleans suburb of Arabi, but quickly changed the name to Popeyes.
Popeyes has since grown into an international brand with more than 3,000 restaurants across in the United States and Canada. Popeyes also has franchises in about 30 countries.
Today, Popeyes is part of Restaurant Brands International in Toronto, Canada. Also operating under the RBI banner are Burger King, Firehouse Subs and Tim Hortons.
Corporate headquarters for Popeyes and Burger King is Miami. Firehouse Subs is headquartered in Jacksonville.
Popeyes opened its first franchise in Louisiana in 1976, introduced its buttermilk biscuits in 1983, surpassed $1 billion in sales for the first time in 1999 and introduced its chicken sandwich in 2019.
For more information on Popeyes, visit https://www.popeyes.com/our-story.
This story was originally published January 24, 2023 at 3:30 PM.
