Popeyes to open 31 restaurants in UK by end of 2023 - including drive-thrus

Popeyes was a huge hit with Brits when it first emerged on the UK high street back in 2021 in Stratford, London.

Now, the US fast-food chain says it plans to open a further 20 restaurants in 2023, bringing the total number of UK sites to 31 by the end of 2023.

It comes as the restaurant saw a record-breaking opening day in Oxford, with food lovers queueing around the block as early as 5am to get their hands on Popeyes’ iconic fried chicken.

Popeyes UK is hoping to open 20 more restaurants in various locations around the country.

Cambridge, Croydon and Reading will be the next locations to experience the chain’s ‘Famous Louisiana Chicken’ in early 2023.

Popeyes UK is hoping to open 20 more restaurants (Popeyes)

There are also plans to launch sites in Rotherham, Cardiff and Glasgow.

Plans to open two new Popeyes delivery kitchens are well underway.

The new kitchens will open in Brent Cross and Dulwich later this month to join existing kitchens in Maida Vale, Bermondsey, Whitechapel and Battersea.

A raft of drive-thru locations will also start popping up, with the first likely to be in Rotherham at Parkgate Shopping Park.

Tom Crowley, CEO at Popeyes UK, said: “There is a pattern emerging now at all our openings with people queuing through the night to be the first in line on opening day.

“It’s fantastic to see how well we are being received right across the UK.

“As well as the new high street restaurants and delivery kitchens, we’re also very excited to announce that in 2023, we’ll be opening a raft of drive-thru locations, with the first likely to be in Rotherham at Parkgate Shopping Park.

A raft of drive-thru locations are expected to start popping up (Popeyes)

"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’ve carefully planned our site acquisition strategy in line with where we’re seeing most demand from our customers, and it’s great to see it coming to life.

“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.”