Operations

Popeyes opens first Britain store

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November 24, 2021

Hundreds of Londoners lined up outside Britain's first Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, according to a report in The New York Times. The store is located in a food court at the Westfield Stratford City shopping mall in East London. Many had heard about the company's famous chicken biscuit.

Translating the popular menu item across the pond wasn't easy, according to Tom Crowley, chief executive of Popeyes UK, who said focus groups called the biscuit scone-like and scoffed at its inclusion with chicken.

"I guess if we ran with the research, we probably wouldn't have done it, if I'm honest," Crowley told the news outlet, but opted to add it anyway to pay homage to Popeyes Louisiana roots. "All that heritage plays well. The U.K., in our view, actually appreciates that great fried chicken is going to come out of Southern U.S."

"It looks like a scone, but it doesn't taste like one," Victoria Ubochi told the newspaper.