Popeyes creates restaurant for London and New York

Written by By Claire Tamashen, CNN

It was 20 years ago that Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen first began serving up its original “Sweet And Low” chicken dish in the UK. Now the fried chicken chain is bringing its distinctive Louisiana fare to a new market: London.

Available for just two weeks, two pop-up restaurants will be open at Covent Garden Station and Broadgate, offering diners fresh, rotisserie-cooked chicken by day and cooked-to-order biscuits by night.

Popeyes founder Dan Dillon, who was in London to celebrate the opening, said he wanted to bring the restaurant’s unique blend of Southern hospitality and Louisiana state pride to the city.

“We try to be a little different. You can’t even find something like this anywhere else on the planet in London,” he said. “We’re here with our brand and we’re here with our open arms and our smile and we’re just here to help everybody.”

Hotties eat fried chicken-in: Popeyes opens in London. Watch: The hotties have arrived at London’s Popeyes ✨ #with @restaurantoffmall #cocktailitalia #sfwcake #insteaks A post shared by Angie Smith (@angiesmith0226) on Jun 22, 2018 at 6:04am PDT

The three most important elements of Popeyes, Dillon said, were its fresh, rotisserie-cooked chicken — from “pepper pickling peanuts to whole skin carcasses” — and its simple desserts made from scratch each day.

It is also business as usual for the company, with a price range from 150 to 490 pounds ($170-$670) a piece.

In keeping with the original restaurant’s ethos, British customers are able to customize their dining experience, from choosing their own unique plate design to placing an order online.

“The big difference is with what we will be selling in London,” said Dillon. “We have such a diverse range of options of how people can customize their meals — to really personalize it is a beautiful way for us to be and be in partnership with our customers and show them we do take them seriously.”

Popeyes plans to introduce breakfast items to the London menu, which it plans to launch later this year.

Dillon said Popeyes wants to encourage fans across the pond to venture over to the restaurant, which it plans to open in other major UK cities in the future.

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