When Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen opened its first two stores in Maine at the Maine Turnpike Kenneubnk and Gardiner rest stops, I asked myself: “Is this chicken restaurant named after Popeye the Sailor Man?”
It turned out that it was not. According to Wikipedia, founder Alvin C. Copeland says he named the restaurants after the fictional detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle, whom Gene Hackman played in The French Connection. That explains why I never saw Popeye on the walls when I ordered a chicken sandwich.
Copeland then founded a franchise company that is currently in the midst of a growth spurt. As of June 2024, there were 3,138 Popeyes restaurants in the United States, with plans to open another 800 by 2028. One of those locations is set to open in Lewiston, Maine.
There are currently three Popeyes stores in Maine. Two are rest stops on the Turnpike, one is in South Portland across from the Maine Mall, and the Lewiston location will be the fourth.
According to the Sun Journal, A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is planned to open at 841 Lisbon St. in Lewiston, on the site of Gendron Place (which many will remember as the old Promenade Mall).
It will be built on the site of a former Mobil gas station directly across from Papa Johns.
The city of Lewiston issued a building permit for the building, which looks very similar to the Popeyes in South Portland.
The big question everyone is asking is: “When does it open?”
The Sun Journal says it will probably be at least a year before they’re ready to serve this delicious chicken, so stay tuned and keep an eye on this spot. Popeyes is coming.
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