Popeyes to open its first restaurant in Gloucester

A new chicken restaurant is set to open its doors in Gloucestershire next month. US Chicken restaurant chain Popeyes has been finalising work on its new restaurant at St Oswalds Retail Park in Gloucester after launching its first UK takeaway restaurant in Stratford, London, in November 2021

The branch is expected to launch in July, with hungry diners keen to signature 12-hour marinated chicken with signature Cajun gravy and fries. Its menu also features breakfast items, and fast food snacks including its brand-new, Big Brekkie Wrap and Buffalo Ranch Sandwich.

Popeyes is aiming to open hundreds of sites in the UK over the next decade across shopping centres, high streets and drive-thru locations, and offer its signature Louisanna chicken burgers and sandwiches to hungry travellers. The chicken brand has already opened branches in Oxford, Cardiff and Birmingham, with other sites across the South West in Plymouth and Exeter.

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Jason Robinson, Senior Destination Manager for St Oswalds Retail Park, commented: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming Popeyes to St Oswalds. The retail park already has a fantastic food offering, and Popeyes is set to add something new to the mix, giving shoppers and local residents more great-tasting choice.”

Popeyes plans for over 30 new openings in the next 12 months, taking its total number of restaurants to over 60 by December 2024.. Tom Byng, Chief Development Officer at Popeyes, said: “In just 30 months, our remarkable Popeyes UK team has secured a pipeline of 50 top-tier new sites, including our first ever Northern Irish location which opens in Belfast very soon.

“Currently, Popeyes UK is the fastest-growing chicken QSR brand in the UK, with a 125% year-on-year growth from May 2023 to May 2024. The sustained demand for Popeyes in the UK is incredible, but not unexpected.

“We’ve seen overnight queues for almost every opening since our UK launch in 2021, with fried chicken fans turning up to queue over 24 hours before the opening of new Popeyes restaurants. We remain committed to our expansion plans and look forward to achieving new milestones in the upcoming years.”