Burger King to buy Popeye's

[golden eagle]

Love that chicken from Burger King?

[nexus73]

Funny thing about the deal is that the capital investment company is Brazilian.  Remember when a Belgian company bought Anheuser Busch?  A Chinese company acquiring Volvo? 

That said, Popeye's is a non-presence in Oregon other than a few in the Portland area with one in Salem.  Why has no one stepped up and invested some moolah in a series of downstate franchises?  Are they chicken of KFC?  LOL! 

When I lived in Louisiana, the chain had crawfish etouffe on the menu.  It disappeared sooner than later unfortunately.  Were Popeye's to get more serious about REALLY doing business, they would blow Kentucky Fried Rat out of the water and give the ENTIRE nation a taste of Louisiana goodness! 

My last visit to one in PDX resulted in what was listed on the menu online not being available at the store.  Sad!  I do give a thumbs up for their spicy mustard dip, which is so exceptional that if it were available in a store, I would buy it.  Too bad the past owners were never intelligent enough to grasp the opportunity.  You can go to the grocery store and find plenty of goods from other major food chains out there so this concept is not exactly reinventing the wheel. 

Rick

[noelbotevera]

Popeye's was one of the best fast food chains. Seriously, their iced tea and chicken, you can name any item on a Popeye's menu, and it is GUARANTEED to be delicious.

Shame Burger King is taking it over. I've tried them once or twice, and the food was good, but nowhere near Popeye's quality.

[Henry]

Love that chicken from Burger King?

More like, Have it Your Way at Popeyes?

So I'm guessing that they will be twinned, like KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silvers and A&W are with each other nowadays? It'll be interesting to see where the deal goes from here. And the fact that Popeyes is a main sponsor of the NFL is a big plus, meaning more national expansion to come.

[Brandon]

Shame Burger King is taking it over. I've tried them once or twice, and the food was good, but nowhere near Popeye's quality.

It's not Burger King taking Popeye's over.  It's the parent company of Burger King (and Tim Hortons) taking Popeye's over.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm waiting for the Creepy Burger King meme as per custom with anything Burger King related news wise.

[jeffandnicole]

Love that chicken from Burger King?

More like, Have it Your Way at Popeyes?

So I'm guessing that they will be twinned, like KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silvers and A&W are with each other nowadays? It'll be interesting to see where the deal goes from here. And the fact that Popeyes is a main sponsor of the NFL is a big plus, meaning more national expansion to come.

Doubt it.  BK and Popeyes can hold their own, and I will think they will remain separate stores.  This deal allows BK to diversify into the fried chicken market, which is huge.

If you go higher up into BK's ownership, you'll see that Burger King, Dunkin Donuts and Domino's Pizza are all related as well.

[Takumi]

I'm waiting for the Creepy Burger King meme as per custom with anything Burger King related news wise.

I tried to find a gif of him doing the "hold on" gesture to post here, but came up short.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm waiting for the Creepy Burger King meme as per custom with anything Burger King related news wise.

I tried to find a gif of him doing the "hold on" gesture to post here, but came up short.

I had a look through Meme Generator last night and didn't see anything related to the story.  There was one for "wake up with the king" that said "where is your god now?"  That got a laugh out of me. 

[kphoger]

I'm waiting for the Creepy Burger King meme as per custom with anything Burger King related news wise.

I tried to find a gif of him doing the "hold on" gesture to post here, but came up short.

I had a look through Meme Generator last night and didn't see anything related to the story.  There was one for "wake up with the king" that said "where is your god now?"  That got a laugh out of me. 

Burger King doesn't offer the same joke-punch as Taco Bell, [un?]fortunately.

[GCrites]

Love that chicken from Burger King?

More like, Have it Your Way at Popeyes?

So I'm guessing that they will be twinned, like KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silvers and A&W are with each other nowadays? It'll be interesting to see where the deal goes from here. And the fact that Popeyes is a main sponsor of the NFL is a big plus, meaning more national expansion to come.

If they do that, I hope they don't force Burger Kings dull fries with Popeye's food instead of Popeye's seasoned fries. The LJS KFC combo stores in my area force potato wedges on you even if you order Long John Silver's food. I hate that.

[sparker]

If the new ownership can address the site-to-site variability of Popeye's outlets, that'll be a good thing!  When I lived down in Hesperia several years back, the two Popeye's outlets (1 in Hesperia off I-15 and the other in Victorville) were, to put it mildly, not places I'd go to twice -- excess grease in the chicken itself (possible undercooking?), soggy fries (both regular & seasoned), and, to top it off, almost hostile service.  Up here in the San Jose area the outlet I've been to is quite good.  I have no idea if the individual stores are company-owned a la In-N-Out, or franchised (like most FF chains).  Either way, the parent company management needs to maintain/enforce some sort of QA.  The basic Popeye's concept is just fine -- if follow-through is applied!

[bandit957]

Why does the government allow this?

[Max Rockatansky]

Why does the government allow this?

Because it isn't illegal, not like we're talking US Steel or Standard Oil style trust busting.

[sparker]

It's not like a merger of fast-food chains is unique in the 21st Century; the acquisition of multiple vendors in a single sector by investment groups/hedge funds has become commonplace (European capital groups seem to be the biggest players in the field).  The fast-food sector is only one of many to be so affected; home electronics/specialty (high-end) audio and video  has seen a recent spate of mergers; companies formerly bitter rivals are now often under the same corporate umbrella (e.g. McIntosh & Audio Research).  And to think that the merger of Carl's Jr. and Hardees back in the very early 2000's was considered a bold move!

[ixnay]

Why does the government allow this?

Because it isn't illegal, not like we're talking US Steel or Standard Oil style trust busting.

Plus, it's a parent firm based in Canada, which is beyond the reach of U.S. antimonopoly authorities, right?

Trust?  Did someone say trust?!?!?  Cue https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yYchgX1fMw (song begins at 0:23)   

ixnay

[nexus73]

If the new ownership can address the site-to-site variability of Popeye's outlets, that'll be a good thing!  When I lived down in Hesperia several years back, the two Popeye's outlets (1 in Hesperia off I-15 and the other in Victorville) were, to put it mildly, not places I'd go to twice -- excess grease in the chicken itself (possible undercooking?), soggy fries (both regular & seasoned), and, to top it off, almost hostile service.  Up here in the San Jose area the outlet I've been to is quite good.  I have no idea if the individual stores are company-owned a la In-N-Out, or franchised (like most FF chains).  Either way, the parent company management needs to maintain/enforce some sort of QA.  The basic Popeye's concept is just fine -- if follow-through is applied!

I saw the same deal with Church's Fried Chicken in Louisiana.  There needs to be QC!

Rick

[oscar]

Plus, it's a parent firm based in Canada, which is beyond the reach of U.S. antimonopoly authorities, right?

Nope. It's routine for the Federal antitrust agencies to challenge acquisitions by foreign companies that affect U.S. markets. I occasionally worked on such matters before I retired from one of those agencies.

Not that necessarily would be an issue of cornering fried chicken markets here.

[cl94]

Love that chicken from Burger King?

More like, Have it Your Way at Popeyes?

So I'm guessing that they will be twinned, like KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silvers and A&W are with each other nowadays? It'll be interesting to see where the deal goes from here. And the fact that Popeyes is a main sponsor of the NFL is a big plus, meaning more national expansion to come.

If they do that, I hope they don't force Burger Kings dull fries with Popeye's food instead of Popeye's seasoned fries. The LJS KFC combo stores in my area force potato wedges on you even if you order Long John Silver's food. I hate that.

I was thinking more along the lines of they'd introduce Burger King fries at standalone Popeyes locations, but I sure as hell hope not.

That being said, I don't think we're gonna have co-branded locations. When Wendy's and Timmy Ho's were owned by the same company, they built a ton of co-branded locations. I don't see co-branded BK and Timmy Ho's locations sprouting up, so why would we have Popeyes co-branded locations? McDonald's didn't co-brand when they owned Chipotle, Boston Market and Donatos.

[jp the roadgeek]

The only co-branding that might make sense is offering Timmy's coffee at Burger King.  Burger King never really had a distinct coffee line of its own like McDonald's has developed, so why not offer a sister brand's coffee?  And if they did, would they bring the "Roll up the Rim" promotion with it?

[oscar]

The only co-branding that might make sense is offering Timmy's coffee at Burger King.  Burger King never really had a distinct coffee line of its own like McDonald's has developed, so why not offer a sister brand's coffee?  And if they did, would they bring the "Roll up the Rim" promotion with it?

I would much rather Tim's coffee (I don't drink coffee) be offered along with its breakfast offerings (which I love) and other food, in more freestanding Tim's stores in the U.S. than the thin strip along the border from the Great Lakes eastward.

I would've been OK with the Tim's/BK merger -- even the do-it-yourself corporate tax reform angle -- except for the fear that it would dampen the incentive to open more freestanding Tim's stores in the U.S., in favor of opening only in BKs Tim Jortons Expresses (coffee and some sugary baked goods only, like I've seen in some Northern general merchandise stores in the Canadian Arctic). I'm not sure adding fried chicken places to the Tim's corporate empire would hurt, but it almost certainly won't help.

[cl94]

Tim Horton's Express is quite common in Upstate New York, particularly in areas without a large amount of freestanding locations. Mirabito has one in most locations with a full store.

[ixnay]

Plus, it's a parent firm based in Canada, which is beyond the reach of U.S. antimonopoly authorities, right?

Nope. It's routine for the Federal antitrust agencies to challenge acquisitions by foreign companies that affect U.S. markets. I occasionally worked on such matters before I retired from one of those agencies.

Then perhaps you can answer these questions:  Are Ottawa's antitrust regulations as stringent as Washington's?  Is it routine for Canada's antitrust agencies to challenge acquisitions by foreign companies that affect Canadian markets?  How about other countries?

ixnay

[cjk374]

If the new ownership can address the site-to-site variability of Popeye's outlets, that'll be a good thing!  When I lived down in Hesperia several years back, the two Popeye's outlets (1 in Hesperia off I-15 and the other in Victorville) were, to put it mildly, not places I'd go to twice -- excess grease in the chicken itself (possible undercooking?), soggy fries (both regular & seasoned), and, to top it off, almost hostile service.  Up here in the San Jose area the outlet I've been to is quite good.  I have no idea if the individual stores are company-owned a la In-N-Out, or franchised (like most FF chains).  Either way, the parent company management needs to maintain/enforce some sort of QA.  The basic Popeye's concept is just fine -- if follow-through is applied!

I saw the same deal with Church's Fried Chicken in Louisiana.  There needs to be QC!

Rick

Church's chicken is absolutely nasty. I ain't sure there is any kind of QC that can help them. Chicken so greasy that it will soak through the cardboard box, soak any upholstery it is in contact with, & burn the hand holding said box.

I hope they don't change the fries either. But I don't see this as a consolidation/standardization merger. (I know nothing about a Tim Horton's. So I will mostly be referring to BK & Popeye's) I believe each company will have their own individual food vendors, soda vendors & other suppliers. Each company will be expected to operate at a profit...and as long as they do, the parent company may leave them alone. If they don't turn a profit, then RB, Inc. will step in & make changes.

[oscar]

Plus, it's a parent firm based in Canada, which is beyond the reach of U.S. antimonopoly authorities, right?

Nope. It's routine for the Federal antitrust agencies to challenge acquisitions by foreign companies that affect U.S. markets. I occasionally worked on such matters before I retired from one of those agencies.

Then perhaps you can answer these questions:  Are Ottawa's antitrust regulations as stringent as Washington's?  Is it routine for Canada's antitrust agencies to challenge acquisitions by foreign companies that affect Canadian markets?  How about other countries?

Can't speak to other countries' antitrust rules. As it relates to the subject at hand, it's not clear that there would be Canadian interest in fried chicken store acquisitions in the U.S. by Tim Hortons or its affiliated firms. If there's a problem, it's ours and not theirs.