Fans of chicken and junk food can lick their chops, a new actor is on the scene to compete with KFC. The Buffalo Grill restaurant group, which already owns Courtepaille restaurants and which created the Napaqaro brand, will relaunch the Popeyes chicken-based fast food chain, according to a statement.
The ambition is to have “five establishments open in Île-de-France by the end of 2022 and to continue at a rate of 50 openings per year”. The brand, which wants to be “family and popular” will offer chicken “always fresh and 100% French” in fillets, legs or wings, “breaded by hand in French flour then fried by cooks and not in an industrial way”. The first establishment should open in Paris in the second half of 2022, with several other “flagships” which should follow very quickly.
Second attempt in France
The brand, now run by a Burger King alumnus, was founded in 1972 in New Orleans and is known for offering chicken marinated for 12 hours. The group hopes for a synergy effect with its Buffalo Grill and Courtepaille brands among chicken lovers. This is Popeyes’ second attempt after a first trial in February 2018. Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen had opened, with Lodarest, a first restaurant near Toulouse, then in Montpellier and Blagnac.
It remains to be seen whether Napaqaro, a phonetic interpretation of “checkered tablecloth” will find its place at the table of fast food restaurants in France.