US fried chicken restaurant phenomenon Popeye’s is about to open its first restaurant ever in Bristol – and it’s going to be at the Avonmeads retail park in St Philip’s.
Bristol Live revealed the American chain was expanding into Bristol n January, but the firm was coy about where their first chicken shop would be. Now they have begun converting what was the Krispy Kreme premises in the middle of Avonmeads, and have begun advertising for staff.
Popeye’s, which is commonplace in North America, went viral on social media last year after they began an expansion into the UK. They opened their 65th restaurant but the nearest in the West Country was in Exeter. In January, Popeye’s told Bristol Live it wanted to become the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the country and open 45 restaurants this year and 350 in the next few years.
“The new sites planned for 2025 will span multiple formats and channels, including eat-in restaurants, drive-thru sites, and delivery kitchens, spanning high street units and travel hubs including rail and roadside locations,” said a spokesperson. “The openings will create approximately 2,500 new jobs across the UK as the business targets sales of more than £200m in 2025.
“The company’s expansion plans follow on from a year of transformational growth in 2024 when it opened 33 locations, sold the equivalent of one sandwich every three seconds, and delivered a 100% increase in total sales to more than £118m, equating to above £2m per week on average,” they added.
Tom Crowley, Popeyes UK’s chief executive, said 2025 was ‘set to be another incredibly exciting year’. “Our ambitious roll-out strategy – which will see us open, on average, close to one new site per week in the coming 12 months – will mean that we can bring joy to even more customers across the country, from breakfast through to late night. At the same time, we are looking forward to welcoming around 2,500 new team members in the year ahead to support our expansion plans, all the while continuing our clear focus on exciting menu and technology innovation,” he said.
And with the Avonmeads branch of Popeye’s being converted this week, and opening soon, it won’t be the last in Bristol. We reported that, when the M49 ‘ghost junction’ between Avonmouth and Severn Beach is finally completed, there will be a Popeye’s built there too.