US fast food chain Popeyes to open drive-thru restaurants in the UK

Popeyes is set to open drive-thru restaurants in the UK.

The huge fried chicken chain has made quite the splash since it began setting up shop on this side of the Atlantic, with people flocking to get a taste of its meaty wares.

Since opening its first restaurant in London a couple of years ago, the Famous Louisiana Kitchen has popped up in Nottingham, Gateshead, and Oxford, where people queued up from 5am to be the first tor try it out.

And since it landed, people have been bowled over by the quality of food on offer.

Praising the chain, one fan said: "Best fast food chicken I've ever tasted, 100 percent better than KFC, and the cajun fries are to die for."

While another added: "The best thing that happened to Oxford ever."

Which is high praise indeed.

Popeyes

But there are now plans for a huge expansion, with another 20 restaurants set to open over the next year, bringing the total UK sites to 31.

Which is pretty exciting, isn't it?

According to the chain, Cambridge, Croydon and Reading will be the next locations to get a piece of the action in early 2023.

These will then be followed by Rotherham, Cardiff and Glasgow, as well as plans for a couple of new Popeyes delivery kitchens are well underway.

These will be in Brent Cross and Dulwich later this month, joining existing kitchens in Maida Vale, Whitechapel, Bermondsey, and Battersea.

And if that wasn't enough, there will also be a few drive-thru locations popping up along the way too, with the first believed to be in Rotherham's Parkgate Shopping Park.

Speaking about the exciting news, 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.

Popeyes

“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.

“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."

Oh, and if that wasn't enough gastronomic goodness for today, there's more.

In case you hadn't noticed, Christmas is just around the corner, which means one thing: the Greggs festive bake.

The highlight of the year for many, the high street bakery has now shared its menu for this Yuletide.

You can check it out here.

Topics: Food And Drink, UK News

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers is LADbible's Editorial Lead. After graduating from the University of Leeds with a degree in French and History, he went on to write for the Manchester Evening News, the Accrington Observer and the Macclesfield Express. So as you can imagine, he’s spent many a night wondering just how useful that second language has been. But c'est la vie.

@SmithersDom