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“The opening was literally our best ever,” said Dayton-area Popeyes franchisee Pat Gilligan. “We had the highest sales-per-week records … . The market has responded well (and) we look forward to continuing to serve the Englewood area.” The restaurant opened Sept. 1.
William Singer Jr., Englewood’s community and economic development director, said today, Sept. 21 that city officials are excited to see new growth along Englewood’s Main Street corridor. The new Popeyes “is a great fit for the shopping center and has provided our residents with a new dining opportunity,” Singer said.
And there are more Popeyes coming as the Dayton-area chicken-restaurant competition continues to intensify.
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“Springboro is about a month-and-a-half away,” Gilligan said, referring to the new Popeyes coming to the 800 block of West Central Avenue (Ohio 73).
Another Popeyes is in the works in Kettering — at the site of a former PNC Bank branch at 4025 Wilmington Pike just south of East Stroop Road in front of a Meijer store. Gilligan told this news outlet this morning he expects construction on the Kettering restaurant to begin in about five months.
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The chain known for its fried chicken and Cajun-style side dishes is poised to more than double its footprint in the Dayton-Springfield area, at a time when competition among fast-casual chicken restaurants is increasing rapidly across the Miami Valley.
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Once a Dayton-area mainstay, Popeyes currently operates restaurants at 3796 Salem Ave. in Harrison Twp. and at 2134 S. Limestone St. in Springfield. A Sugarcreek Twp. location at 5800 Wilmington Pike near I-675 shut its doors in 2010. Gilligan purchased the Harrison Twp. and Springfield Popeyes locations in January 2016 and has owned Cincinnati-area Popeyes since 2006.
Popeyes had multiple locations in the Dayton area in the early 1980s, but those closed, and the region went without the Cajun-themed chicken chain for several years. When the current Salem Avenue Popeyes opened in 2001, devotees flocked to the restaurant for several days, causing waits of up to an hour.
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Competition is growing more intense almost by the day in the chicken-restaurant market. Raising Cane’s entered the Dayton-area region with its restaurant on Miamisburg-Centerville Road in Washington Twp. east of the Dayton Mall earlier this year. Chick-fil-A opened two new Dayton-area restaurants — in Kettering and Troy — on the same day in January 2017. And Mike’s Nashville Hot opened new restaurants on Far Hills Avenue in Centerville and in Austin Landing in Miami Twp.
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The region also is stocked with KFC, Lee’s Famous Recipe and Church’s chicken restaurants, as well as multiple wing-themed restaurants, some entering the market for the first time.
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