Pent up Demand for Popeyes?

Quick. Who’s the new restaurant Popeyes named after?

You’re probably wrong, but then you might have guessed that just because I bothered to ask. The chain is not named after the pipe-smoking sailor with the abnormally large forearms. It is, however, named after a fictional character. Gene Hackman won an Oscar for his role as Popeye Doyle in The French Connection. Myself, I’m wondering where the name “Popeye” came from anyway, but I probably won’t find out anytime soon.

The Cajun-themed restaurant opened a location on Wheaton Way last week, adding a bright red and yellow to the street’s landscape. Most would concede that it’s better than the abandoned-building look it had prior to that.

The new Popeyes in Bremerton is drawing crowds.

We first told you in January that Popeyes was coming. The chain has had a South Kitsap location since sometime in 2006.

The chicken comes spicy or regular, but it’s the spicy that distinguishes Popeyes from its chicken neighbor up the street, KFC.

One of our editors sent me a note last week.

I went home on Wheaton Way and went by Popeyes, which apparently opened that day. When I went by (again, after 8 pm) the place was a madhouse and there were cars backed up from the drivein window all the way around the building and back out to the entrance at the street in front. A few blocks down I went past KFC. There was not a single car in the drive through and not much evidence of activity.

There must have been some huge pent up demand for Popeyes because I’ve never seen a fast food place in this town so backed up.

I drove by there around 10:30 a.m. today and shot the pictures here, and while the store wasn’t packed there was a pretty big crowd for that early in the morning. I had no idea people wanted chicken that early.

So, were you among those aching for Popeyes?