The Popeyes at 7050 Jimmy Carter Boulevard in Norcross has closed after about four decades in business. Located in an outparcel of the Talpa Supermercados-anchored Peachtree Corners shopping center, Popeyes occupied a freestanding, roughly 3,400 square foot building, according to property records.
Just north of the Popeyes, there was previously a Bojangles that opened in 2013 but closed in 2019, and after becoming Spanky's Chicken & Seafood Lounge for a time, it, too, sits vacant.
Popeyes, which started in Louisiana but for a time called metro Atlanta home, is today headquartered in Miami. The brand has gone through several ownership changes over the years but was taken private by Restaurant Brands International (RBI) in 2017 in a deal valued at $1.8 billion. (Toronto-based RBI also owns Burger King, Tim Hortons, and Firehouse Subs.)
The chain saw its sales take off like a rocket ship in late 2019 and into 2020 with its introduction of a fried chicken sandwich and the ensuing "chicken wars." The sandwich became a phenomenon and drove tremendous interest in the brand.
As of late, however, the brand seems to have lost its mojo and just delivered its seventh consecutive quarter of sales decreases, with same-store sales in the first quarter of 2026 down 6.5%. The chain also saw one of its largest franchisees file for chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year and close at least eight locations in Georgia as a result.
It's unclear what, if anything, may come to the now former Popeyes in Norcross, but at least one recently shuttered location in Commerce is being demolished to make way for a new 7 Brew Coffee.
Are you surprised to see Popeyes closing so many locations? What is your favorite fried chicken chain? What would you like to see open in place of Popeyes in Norcross?
Please share your thoughts below.
10 comments:
The Popeyes restaurant on Jiles road in Kennesaw closed abruptly 2 weeks ago.
Pretty sure this closed before last week. The issue to my mind with all of these legacy chicken chains like Popeyes, KFC, Bojangles, Churches, etc. is they can’t seem to be run well with good timely service compared to Chick fil-A, Canes, etc. Staff quality seems subpar- dining rooms usually a bit of a mess. Could be the customer base does not demand it or the complexity of the menu trying to turn out bone-in and boneless chicken even fried seafood. Personally I like Popeyes bone-in chicken but it’s such a hassle to get the food, etc. don’t eat there very often.
Popeye’s can be really good. It can also be really bad. If you’re not at a mall or airport location, the service is almost certainly going to be absolutely horrendous.
The last time I tried to go to the one in Fayetteville, in the early evening, they were “out of all sides.” I’ve waited in line on multiple occasions so long that I gave up and went somewhere else.
I’m only surprised that one closes because so many of them are still open, frankly.
I swore off Popeyes after them striking out three different times, all related to staffing issues. One time I waited 45 minutes for my food, once I was served a raw chicken biscuit that I was fortunate to try to cut in half first, and once I was stuck in their drive-thru for 30 minutes (literally stuck because I couldn't jump the curb to get out.) At least one of those locations is now closed. They clearly cannot pay a wage that retains good staff.
The Popeyes at Claremont and briarcliff closed as well. Would love to see a nice pizza joint go in there.
I stopped going to Popeye's due to the poor service. It was a like a clown show every time I visited whether it was waiting over 30 minutes for my food, being out of multiple items on the menu, or even witnessing a physical altercation between employees one time. It's like they intentionally hire the slowest people they can find and then act like they are doing you a favor when they take your order.
CFA is known for intentionally sacrificing drive-thru speed to prioritize food quality and the customer service experience. Also, Popeyes, when done right, is the best QSR fried chicken chain.
If I could get Popeyes chicken with Chik-Fil-A service, I'd be extremely overweight
Beyond the service and quality issues, Popeyes also seemed to randomly change recipes of several food items. For one thing, they changed the spicy chicken marinade/seasoning and it tastes vile. I'm not even sure if it's changed nationwide because it was done quietly, but also points to a consistency issue. The biscuits don't really taste the same anymore, and even when they brought the cajun rice back it tastes weird and like chemicals. They started focusing so much on chicken sandwiches and sauces for wings that other items suffered in my opinion. Service is decent at the one I go to but i can also see the downturn in the amount of customers there over the past several years.
Sadly I think we’ll be seeing lots and lots of businesses closing. With the Democrats winning last Tuesday we are in all likelihood headed for another Great Depression. Even the sheer genius of president Donald j Trump cannot overcome the obstructionist cheating socialist communist democrats. At least we know Iran will never get a nuclear weapon under president trump’s leadership.
Post a Comment