Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, the American fried chicken chain, is headed for Coquitlam with a new store set to open in this summer.
A sign is already posted on a building located off Lougheed Highway and Westwood Street in Sunwood Square Mall.
The building stands empty and will need extensive renovations, but a spokesperson said the store could start serving tenders and chicken sandwiches by the end of July.
Popeyes has been on an aggressive expansion in recent years, including in B.C. where it has established several franchises — one is in Port Coquitlam on Hawkins Street in Fremont Village.
It's going head to head with Mary Brown's Chicken, which has added a foothold in both Port Moody and Port Coquitlam, as well as a number of Korean-style fried chicken establishments, such as Pelicana Chicken, which is opening a quick service restaurant at 206-2748 Lougheed Hwy. in Port Coquitlam.
Here's what's happening at Sunwood Square mall
Sunwood Square has also announced on its website that The Chopped Leaf, a popular health-oriented restaurant, offering freshly-prepared salads, soups and sandwiches, is also planning to open a store.
A major coffee chain and roastery business is also opening soon in Sunwood Square. JJ Bean is set to open this spring at the Coquitlam open air mall.
Also this week, it was announced that Save-On Foods at the mall is planning to offer liquor along with groceries at its Sunwood Square location.
Other restaurants in the mall include White Spot a Japanese restaurant and a pho restaraunt.
But fried chicken continues to be a growing business.
In an interview with Retail Insider, Popeye's Chicken general manager Rob Manuel said there is a lot of room for growth in Western Canada.
“What market research tells us is there’s still increasing demand from Canadians and because we’re not coast to coast today and still somewhat under-penetrated in a lot of Western Canada, we still think we’ve got a fair amount of runway ahead of us for growth,” he told reporter Mario Toneguzzi.
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., also known as Popeyes and formerly named Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits and Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits, is an American multinational chain of fried chicken fast food restaurants that was founded in 1972 in New Orleans, La., and headquartered in Miami, Fl.
