Maureen Wallenfang
Appleton Post-Crescent
Published 8:32 AM EDT Aug 19, 2019
From the moment Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen opens on Tuesday, it’s likely the restaurant will be swamped by those who know and crave its southern-style, crispy fried chicken, which is marinated and spicy.
Or by those who are simply curious about the hoopla.
“Bring your patience,” said project manager Jeremiah Carpenter, who has done many of these openings.
Popeyes is at 2800 W. College Ave. in Appleton, next to Taco Bell and in front of Office Depot.
It has 56 seats inside. A lot of its business will be family sized containers of chicken, shrimp and side dishes picked up from its counter or drive-thru.
Popeyes’ entry into this market isn’t a one-and-done event.
Expect to see more of its saffron-colored fried chicken restaurants pop up. The franchisee, SmitCo Eateries, signed a development deal to put 15 Popeyes across Wisconsin’s midsection.
“It was the last virgin market available in the continental United States,” said Marc Rodriguez, SmitCo CEO.
Manitowoc was their first. Appleton is second. Fond du Lac will open mid-October. Green Bay’s first site is under negotiation and will open next year. The territory runs to Wausau, Eau Claire and La Crosse.
SmitCo will build three a year for the next four to five years. Each Popeyes costs between $1.2 million and $1.6 million, depending on site particulars.
Stiff competition – chiefly from the coming Chick-fil-A farther west on College Avenue – doesn’t bother the franchisees. Popeyes even introduced a chicken sandwich last week to go toe-to-toe with this particular rival.
“One of our best restaurants is across the street from a Chick-fil-A,” said Rodriguez. “They’re a great business. We’re a great business. We’re known for our flavor profiles, and if we can compete on the service level, we’ll be successful.”
The Appleton location had 63 of its 80 employees hired as of early last week.
It will be open 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. For a menu, text the word “Popeyes” to 63975.
Contact Maureen Wallenfang at 920-993-7116 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @wallenfang.
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