How long would you wait for Louisiana fried chicken?
When a new Popeye’s location – the first in Atlantic Canada – opened Wednesday in Bedford, Nova Scotia, people waited for hours in a traffic jam caused by a drive through line at the restaurant.
Lines continued the following day.
Popeye’s hails from the New Orleans, La., suburb of Arabi, where Al C. Copeland Sr., began selling spicy New Orleans-style chicken in 1972. By 1976, the first Popeye’s franchise opened and by 1983, they were selling buttermilk biscuits that are now a fan favorite.
Now, there are more than 2,700 Popeye’s locations.
In 2019, Popeye’s launched a chicken sandwich that became so popular it sold out at many locations and even prompted one man to file a lawsuit against the fast food chain, which he accused it of deceptive business practices and false advertising. This year, Thrillist named it the best fast-food chicken sandwich.
According to a CBC report, lines at the new Canadian Popeye’s “snaked through two roundabouts,” on a street called Larry Uteck Boulevard.
“There's absolutely no way that emergency vehicles could have gotten into that area,” said Vince Garnier, who lives in the area and is a former director of the province's Occupational Health and Safety division.
A CBC reporter recorded footage of an ambulance trying to pass through the jam Wednesday.
Even before the Popeye’s opened in Bedford, people were asking on social media about when it might open and staff were planning for a busy day.
“This is going to be a busy, busy place that we’re looking at,” said Popeyes Bedford General Manager Wilmer Morales, according to Huddle. “For the drive-thru, we hired security so they can manage the flow of cars. It will definitely be busy coming here.”
There are already more than 200 Popeye’s locations in Canada.
Morales said around 20 more are coming to Atlantic Canada, or the Eastern provinces of the country.
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