Popeyes began in 1972 as Chicken on the Run, a restaurant Alvin C. “Al” Copeland Sr. opened in Arabi, Louisiana, near New Orleans. According to the company’s history, Copeland changed course after the original restaurant struggled, reopening as Popeyes with spicy New Orleans-style chicken. Franchising, menu and marketing milestones, and international expansion followed; Restaurant Brands International acquired the chain in 2017.
Where Popeyes started
Popeyes traces its beginning to Arabi, a suburb of New Orleans. Its official history says Copeland opened Chicken on the Run there in 1972, initially serving traditional Southern-fried chicken. When the restaurant struggled, he relaunched it under the Popeyes name with spicy chicken inspired by New Orleans flavors. That account comes from Popeyes itself, rather than an independent contemporary report. Popeyes’ corporate history recounts the founding.
How the local restaurant began to scale
Franchising extended the brand beyond its first location
Popeyes says its first franchise restaurant opened in Louisiana in 1976, four years after the Arabi restaurant began. Franchising marks a documented step from a founder-led single location toward a wider restaurant network. The available milestones do not quantify how much franchising, by itself, contributed to later growth.
Menu and marketing helped establish a recognizable identity
The company’s timeline records the “Love That Chicken” tagline in 1980 and the introduction of buttermilk biscuits in 1983. These milestones show the brand developing beyond its original chicken offering, combining a named advertising phrase with an additional menu staple. They document when the changes occurred, but do not establish their individual effect on sales or expansion. Popeyes’ history page lists the milestones.
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From Louisiana to international expansion
Popeyes says its first international expansion was to Toronto, Canada, in 1984. The following year, it opened its 500th restaurant. Together, these dates mark a rapid progression in the company’s own chronology: from the 1976 Louisiana franchise to an international location and a 500-restaurant milestone within nine years. The dates show the sequence, not the precise causes or pace of growth in each intervening year.
Ownership changed as the chain grew
Restaurant Brands International (RBI) acquired Popeyes in 2017. The acquisition is recorded in RBI’s 2017 announcement and in Popeyes’ company history. This marks a change from the chain’s founder-era story to ownership by a larger restaurant group; the milestones cited here do not assign the chain’s earlier growth to any single business decision.
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How large is Popeyes now?
The restaurant counts published by Popeyes and RBI are tied to different dates and should not be treated as a like-for-like year-end comparison.
| Source and timing | Restaurant count stated | What the figure means |
|---|---|---|
| Popeyes corporate history, August 5, 2022 | More than 3,800 globally | A dated company statement about its global network at that time. |
| RBI brands page, accessed October 8, 2026 | Over 4,900 in the United States and around the world | The page gives no reporting date for the figure, so it is not a 2026 year-end count. |
The figures indicate the scale described by the companies at those respective points, but the undated RBI figure cannot be used to calculate a precise growth rate since 2022. RBI’s current brand page provides the latter count: RBI brands.
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The documented growth story
Popeyes’ published history describes a sequence: a 1972 restaurant in Arabi, a relaunch around spicy New Orleans-style chicken, franchising in 1976, menu and marketing milestones, expansion to Toronto, and a 500th restaurant by 1985. RBI’s 2017 acquisition and the later company-reported restaurant counts show how far the brand’s footprint extended. These milestones establish the timeline, but they do not prove that any one menu choice, slogan, ownership change, or expansion decision alone caused Popeyes’ growth.
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