US fried chicken chain set to open first Northern Ireland restaurants

Fried chicken brand Popeyes looks set to open its first restaurants in Northern Ireland, it’s been claimed.

The US-headquartered chicken business has agreed deals to open its first restaurants here.

The firm announced it was planning on rolling out more than 300 locations right across the UK, and initially has eyed sites such as Glasgow, Cambridge and Cardiff.

But according to CBRI NI, it has also agreed deals to open spots here.

Popeyes, which competes directly with global chicken giant KFC, has around 3,400 restaurants across the world.

It said it has a goal of opening 350 UK restaurants over the next 10 years, after rapid growth in continental Europe in recent years.

The business rolled out its brand into Spain and Switzerland over the past two years but said it sees the UK as its “next big opportunity” for growth.

Popeyes was founded in New Orleans in 1972 and is launching in the UK as part of an agreement between Restaurant Brands International, Ring International Holdings and hospitality veteran Elias Diaz Sese, co-founder of Popeyes UK.

Popeyes is the latest fried chicken chain to expand into Northern Ireland, and follows Canadian-owned Mary Brown’s, which opened its first location here in Lisburn.