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 Republic of Ireland, recently opened its first Irish outlet in Blanchardstown on 6 June, 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 can’t wait to open our first Popeyes outlet at Midway later this summer.”
Popeyes UK and Ireland Chief Development Officer, Tom Byng, said we are 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.”
Applegreen has been working with Popeyes in the United States since 2021 and currently operates 24 of its chicken restaurants at travel plaza locations in Delaware, Indiana, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
Popeyes is an award-winning brand with more than 50 years of heritage. It is known for its authentic Southern hospitality and signature hand-breaded and battered famous ‘shatter crunchin’ chicken. The company is one of the world’s fastest-growing chicken quick service restaurant brands, operating from with around 5,400 restaurants in 50 countries worldwide, with annual sales of $8 billion.
Applegreen is one of Ireland’s leading retail brands. It opened its first service station in Ballyfermot in Dublin in 1992 and now operates almost 200 locations in the Irish market. Applegreen typically invests more than €30 million every year in the Irish market on new store openings, upgrades, and improvements.
Applegreen also has a significant business overseas, with operations in Britain and the United States, and a total of more than 435 locations and more than 700 branded food offers across its global network.?
