Popeyes: 100th UK store from US Louisiana food chain opening in London - more new fried chicken shops opening

• Popeyes is opening its 100th UK restaurant next week at London Bridge station
• The chain has expanded rapidly since launching in 2021, with 45 new sites this year alone
• Bosses say demand for fried chicken is still rising, driven by the UK’s high-protein trend
• Rivals like Wingstop, Dave’s Hot Chicken and Chick-fil-A are also fuelling a UK chicken boom
• Popeyes says the country is far from “peak chicken” and plans to keep opening stores at pace

If you’ve noticed your local high street filling up with fried chicken shops lately, you’re not imagining it, and the boom is far from over.

Now, one fast-growing US chicken chain famed for its Louisiana-style fried chicken sandwiches is about to open its 100th UK restaurant, and bosses say even more are on the way.

Popeyes’ milestone store opens next week inside London Bridge station, marking a major moment for the brand just three years after it first touched down in the UK.

The 3,000 sq ft site will become Popeyes’ 27th London location and is deliberately positioned in one of the capital’s busiest commuter hubs, part of a wider push to target places where queues are almost guaranteed.

For consumers, that means the orange-and-white shopfront is increasingly hard to avoid.

Popeyes has already opened 45 restaurants this year alone and expects that number to be close to 50 by the end of 2025. And while many chains slow down expansion once they hit a major milestone, Popeyes says it has no intention of easing up.

Tom Crowley, CEO of Popeyes UK, said the brand has “no public target” but insists the appetite for fried chicken, fuelled by the UK’s growing obsession with high-protein foods, shows no sign of slowing.

“We’ve been able to grow quicker than we first anticipated,” he said. “People appreciate the authenticity of the brand… I can’t see a reason why we can’t keep opening at a similar pace.”

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It helps that the UK chicken scene is having a moment. Rivals like Wingstop are opening stores at speed after a £400m takeover last year, while US imports such as Dave’s Hot Chicken and Chick-fil-A have been testing the market and drawing big queues of their own.

For customers, it’s sparked something of a fried chicken arms race, with chains competing on spice levels, sandwiches, sauces, and sides. Despite this surge, Crowley isn’t worried about the UK hitting “peak chicken”.

“I often hear this question,” he said, “but the continued rise in customer demand shows there’s plenty of room to grow. The US has around double the number of chicken restaurants per head than we do – so the potential here is still huge.”

In other words: expect even more orange bags, long queues, and crispy chicken sandwiches coming to a high street near you.