Applegreen to invest €6 million following deal to open Popeyes Restaurants
Kenneth Fox
Applegreen is to create up to 450 new jobs following an agreement that will see the Irish company open a series of Popeyes chicken restaurants at its roadside locations.
Under the new agreement, Applegreen will invest about €6 million to open Popeyes outlets at a number of its Irish locations over the next four years. Applegreen’s first Popeyes will open at Midway, Junction 17 on the M7 at Portlaoise in the next few weeks.
Popeyes UK and Ireland, which holds the master franchise for Popeyes in both the UK and the Republic of Ireland, recently opened its first Irish outlet in Blanchardstown on June 6th, with a second due to open in Liffey Valley Shopping Centre shortly.
“We are delighted to add Popeyes to our growing portfolio of high-quality brands in the Irish market,” said Seamus Stapleton, Managing Director of Applegreen’s Republic of Ireland business.
“At Applegreen, we’re committed to raising the bar for roadside hospitality and offering great food and world‑class service to people on the move. Popeyes is a fantastic addition to the Applegreen offer, and we cannot wait to open our first Popeyes outlet at Midway later this summer.”
Popeyes UK and Ireland chief development officer, Tom Byng, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with Applegreen as we roll out new restaurants across the Republic of Ireland.
"The partnership will allow us to reach more consumers on the move and marks an exciting milestone in our journey to bring our much-loved shatter crunchin’ chicken to Irish customers, with our first Irish restaurant in Blanchardstown now open.”
They have been working with Popeyes in the United States since 2021 and currently operate 24 of its chicken restaurants at travel plaza locations in Delaware, Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
The Applegreen business currently employs about 16,900 people, and it has further plans for growth in all of its major markets as it is currently engaged in a €1 billion expansion programme. It had a turnover of almost €4 billion last year and serves about 180 million customers annually.
The company’s expansion plans are focused on acquiring and developing new sites in the markets in which it already operates, as well as upgrading and rebranding its existing locations.
