Inside Popeyes, as viral American chicken restaurant opens massive Greater Manchester drive-thru

Travel down Bury New Road towards Salford and you'll notice a new addition to its growing hub of fast food spots. In the case of this new stop-off though, its bold orange and blue signage is particularly hard to miss.

Situated just past Tim Hortons, and over the way from McDonald's you'll find Popeyes, the hit Louisiana chicken restaurant known for its fried chicken sandwiches and legion of celebrity followers. It's become a fast-food juggernaut in the United States, and it recent years it's bedded in here in the UK, with a total of 47 sites - including 11 new openings in 2024 alone.

Popeyes opened its first Manchester branch on Piccadilly Gardens back in October to great fanfare. Despite the weather conditions and low temperatures, eager chicken lovers queued for as long as 16 hours to be one of the first in line - and to nab free chicken sandwiches.

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Much of its success, at least in recent years, can be put down to its viral chicken sandwiches consisting of a brioche bun, mayo, pickles and fried chicken - and thankfully, they'll be a staple of its second Greater Manchester branch on Bury New Road. The difference at its new site though is the added convenience of its drive-thru.

It's here that fans of Popeyes can pick up food on their way home by either heading through the drive-thru or ordering ahead for curbside collection. Meanwhile, those who want to sit inside can order through the QR on the table or via the touch-screens which list everything from its 'shatter'-crunch' chicken and Southern biscuits to its shakes and breakfast deals.

The indoor space is decked out in the signature orange and blue branding and encompasses 72 covers, while outside the drive-thru features dual ordering lanes and designated bays for those who have ordered ahead via the Popeyes app.

Georgie Ross, head of central marketing at Popeyes said: "It's very exciting as we obviously opened in Piccadilly Gardens last October and that has been a big success for us. Since opening in the UK in November 2021, Manchester as a region as a region has been key for us and we're keen to get in the area as soon as we could. Bury New Road is our next site and hopefully there will be many more in the future.

"This site being a drive-thru allows us to get our chicken sandwiches to a wider number of people than Manchester Piccadilly, so it makes us more accessible to people around Greater Manchester. People can order via the usual mechanisms, whether by screens, at the counter or online, but what makes this site special is the drive-thru lanes so you can eat in the comfort of your own car, and we also have curbside collection via our online ordering platform.

"The thing we wanted to bring to a drive-thru site is that New Orleans restaurant style that's people can really enjoy. So the space is light and airy and the drive-thru just adds to that."

In terms of the food offer, the reason Popeyes has become so popular has a lot to do with how they prepare their chicken. Some of it is marinated in buttermilk for 12 hours before being dredged in seasoned flour with its secret recipe of herbs and spices, and finally served at the table with its unmistakable golden glow.

Sandwiches, starting from £5.99 can be decked out with pickles, Louisiana smoked American cheese, BBQ sauce and mayo, plus other toppings, and are are all served on a toasted brioche. Equally as popular, chicken tenders (from £5.25) are best paired with Popeyes multitude of sauces (75p), spanning everything from Mango Habanero and Louisiana Hot to Bold BBQ, Buffalo and Garlic Mayo.

An authentic Louisiana chicken experience has to be completed with one its biscuits as well, a warm, scone-like side which is best consumed by dunking it into the Cajun spiced gravy. If you prefer the sweeter things, then you can also cover it in Nutella or a honey. Sides wise, diners can choose from be Cajun fries and rice (from £1.99), slaw (£2.99) or its Mac & Cheese (£3.50).

Like the Manchester Piccadilly site, they'll also be serving up breakfast from 8am. As well as their Nutella-topped buttermilk biscuits, combination rolls and muffins with sausage, eggs and Cajun hash brown, American cheese and ketchup, they'll be doing a special bacon roll deal for £1.99, served with a hash brown and either an orange juice or coffee. On the sweeter side, and to complete the meal, there's also their hand-spun shakes (from £3.99) in flavours including vanilla and strawberry, as well as Oreo and Lotus Biscoff.

To celebrate the launch of its new Manchester drive-thru, Popeyes will be pulling out all the stops to showcase its New Orleans hospitality. On opening day the first three people queuing both on-foot and in cars will win free chicken sandwiches for a whole year, which works out to about three a week.

On top of this, the first 25 customers in both queues will also be given a free chicken sandwich and Popeyes merchandise. The chicken chain saw massive queues for its first Manchester site launch back in October, with people queuing overnight, but the team have said the queue will officially open at 9am on Friday, 27 April, before its full launch at 11am. The site will officially serve its first breakfast at 8am the next day.

The Popeyes Bury New Road Drive-Thru will open on 288-292 Bury New Road at 11am on Friday 26th April.