Popeyes’ Chicken Sandwich Is Back, It’s Here to Stay

By Dayanara Analuisa

The Popeyes’ fried chicken sandwich makes a delicious come back and has taken the fast-food world by storm. 

After two months of anticipation, the sandwich relaunched on November 3 and the news broke the internet. The hype behind the notorious fast-food item has not yet died down but this begs the question, is this the best chicken sandwich in the fast-food industry?

Popeyes’ Vice President of Culinary Innovation and Head Chef, Amy Alarcon, made it her mission to make the perfect chicken sandwich. Something innovative, unlike anything customers have eaten before. She settled on using the same fried chicken recipe but with a sweet brioche bun, the option of classic or spicy mayo, and served with tart pickles. Thus, the Popeyes’ chicken sandwich was born.

“That’s the best thing about this sandwich; it’s like a microcosm of our brand that you can hold in your hand,” Alarcon said at a New York press event in an interview with Thrillist. 

The demand for the sandwich is at an all-time high with customer’s complaints sweeping social media. Photos of the long lines and frustrated customers are all over the internet. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the worst of it. In an extreme case, a man was stabbed to death after someone cut in line in a Maryland Popeyes. Employees are usually at the receiving end of these hungry mobs who are desperate to get their hands on this popular sandwich. 

“We are busting our butts and breaking our backs and someone threatens to shoot us because we ran out of something,” Wanda Lavender told Vox’s, Alexia Fernández Campbell. “That doesn’t scare me, but imagine what that’s like for an 18-year-old kid who works here? It scares the life out of them. It’s a hard pill to swallow. And all over some sandwich.”

Placer.ai tracked down the retail foot traffic of the sandwich and the public’s reaction to the relaunch, which topped the original launch days. The estimation is that the traffic was up 300% over the normal baseline compared to the first launch days of 255.6% and 243% in August. 

A sandwich that is now a trendy viral food item, there are many mixed reactions from customers on whether it was worth the attention it got. After the demand for the original launch led to a chicken shortage, Bruno Cardinali, Popeyes’ head of marketing for North America ensured that they can meet the demand this time. 

Now the internet-famous sandwich is back for good as a permanent item on the menu, Popeyes plans to continue operations smoothly and to make sure customer demands are fulfilled.