Popeyes UK ramps up restaurant rollout

Chicken chain Popeyes UK is once again going for growth as it reveals Cambridge, Croydon and Reading will be the next locations for its expansion in early 2023.

The next round of restaurant openings will also include sites in Cardiff and Glasgow.

The group will also open several drive-through locations next year, with the first likely to be at Parkgate Shopping Park in Rotherham.

Tom Crowley, chief executive at Popeyes UK, said: “Consumer demand has been high for a drive-thru ever since we landed in the UK, so it feels like a real milestone for us.

“We’re working at pace currently on opening our Liverpool, Brighton and Leicester branches before the end of the year – but we always have one eye on the future and are looking forward to continuing sharing our expansion plans.”

Overall, Popeyes UK is expected to open 20 restaurants next year, which would bring its total number of UK restaurants to 31 by the end of 2023.

The brand is also due to open a duo of new delivery kitchens in Brent Cross and Dulwich later this month.

Popeyes was founded in New Orleans in 1972 and now has more than 3,700 restaurants globally. The group said its UK Stratford site was its highest performing in the portfolio.

Since launching in the UK in November 2021, Popeyes has opened seven restaurants across the UK and four delivery kitchens in Greater London.