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Popeye's

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is one of three quick-service brands owned by Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International Inc., and its sibling concepts are Burger King and Tim Hortons.

Restaurant Brands International bought the Popeyes, then publicly traded, in a 2017 deal valued at $1.8 billion. The company had about 2,600 restaurants systemwide at the time.

Popeyes was founded in New Orleans in 1972 and has a menu inspired by Cajun favorites.

Popeyes’ Spicy Chicken Sandwich became a popular social-media topic in 2019 when it sold out soon after its introduction. Before the 2021 Lenten season, Popeyes introduced a limited-time offer Cajun Flounder Sandwich to its menu.

The company thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in 2020 on the strength of its drive-thru and delivery offerings as well as the chicken sandwich.

As of the end of the first quarter 2021 on March 31, Popeyes had 3,495 restaurants systemwide, up from 3,336 units in the prior-year period.

RBI is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. José Cil was appointed CEO of Restaurant Brands International in January 2019.

Headquarters: Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Segment: Quick Service

Restaurant Segment: LSR Chicken

Number of Locations: 2,595

2020 Sales: $4.581 billion

Annual Growth:

Source: Datassential Firefly 500

CEO: José Cil

Parent/Group: Restaurant Brands International Inc.

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