Popeyes to open Kent store with 'overnight queues' expected

Popeyes has announced that it will open a restaurant in Kent. The US fast food giant is home of Famous Louisiana Chicken Popeyes and first entered the UK market in November 2021 .

Today the chain opened its 50th store in Glasgow, but the rest of the year will see stores in locations such as Watford, Wimbledon, Nottingham Teal, Merry Hill and Dartford, in Kent.

The boss of Popeyes said they've seen overnight queues for almost every opening in the UK. For example, one man was spotted queuing overnight in his pyjamas to secure free chicken for a year at the grand opening of a new drive-thru Popeyes in Cardiff.

In addition, a second location in Aberdeen, a second location in Luton, a third location in Manchester, and a first-ever location in Belfast, Northern Ireland are all set to open their doors in the coming months. These openings are expected to generate 2,000 new jobs.

Tom Crowley, CEO at Popeyes UK 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."

quickly became a massive hit with fried chicken lovers up and down the country desperate to try the Louisiana goodness.

After coming to the UK, the food proved popular as the company's chicken sandwich famously broke the internet when it was first launched in the US back in 2019. Popeyes has even garnered a number of celebrity fans including Megan Thee Stallion who collaborated with them on a hot sauce called Hottie.

Find out more about things to do in Kent with our free What’s On email HERE.