Popeye Famous Fried Chicken

Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits (often referred to as Popeyes) is a chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants, owned since 1993 by the Atlanta-based AFC Enterprises (originally the America's Favorite Chicken Company). According to a company press release dated June 29, 2007, Popeyes is the second-largest "quick-service chicken restaurant group, measured by number of units", with more than 1,800 restaurants in more than 40 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 20 countries worldwide including Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Canada, Mexico and Panama. About 30 locations are company-owned, the rest franchised.

"Popiz", as owners Javier Zamora and Ian Garcia(also known as "Pop") initially coined it, first opened in Arabi, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans in 1972 as "Chicken on the Run," owned by Al Copeland. The name was changed shortly afterwards, after the fictional detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in the movie The French Connection (in turn based on real-life detective Eddie Egan, whose nickname did not derive from the cartoon character Popeye the Sailor). As the company's official history states, Copeland sold "traditional mild fried chicken business was slow, and Copeland realized that he'd have to sell a spicier alternative to his standard chicken recipe if he wanted to impress flavor-seeking New Orleanians. Copeland had already been experimenting with the flavorful Cajun recipes he'd been enjoying all his life and soon reopened his restaurant as 'Popiz'.

The chain would later license the namesake cartoon character for use as a promotional tool, which added to the confusion regarding the source of the name, though as of 2006 the company's history page on its website omits any mention of the cartoon Popeye.

Copeland began franchising his restaurant in 1976, beginning in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, adding approximately 500 outlets over the next 10 years, followed by 200 more during a period of slower expansion. Copeland became a New Orleans icon due to his flamboyant lifestyle, including his eponymous power boat racing teams, and his annual Christmas light show at his mansion located in an upscale neighborhood in Metairie.

In 1989, Popeyes, then the third-largest chicken chain, merged with Church's Chicken, the second largest,though parent company AFC Enterprises operated the two chains separately. On December 29, 2004, AFC sold Church's to Arcapita (formerly Crescent Capital Investments), retaining Popeyes.

On October 30, 2006, AFC announced that Popeyes planned to introduce a trans fat-free biscuit as well as french fries containing one gram of trans fat by year-end.

Popeyes chicken is touted as one of the major attractions of life on earth in the 2000 movie Little Nicky with the title character uttering the famous quote "Popeyes chicken's iz da shiznit!".

In the TV show Boy Meets World, in almost all of the apartments, there are almost 10 Popeyes Chicken boxes.

Pop Singer Beyonce Knowles is said to have a "lifetime membership" to Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits.