Popeye’s Chicken & Biscuits

Popeye’s will always be a go to for me. However this particular Popeye’s was well below par. We stopped in on a Saturday night at 8:45 p.m. The hours showed them open to 11 p.m. We placed our order and they were out of fries, coleslaw, and macaroni and cheese. The only sides they had were green beans and red beans and rice. The server who took the order was very rude and abrupt. When I tried to modify an order she huffed and sighed. When we got to the window she was pleasant. However we asked for extra napkins and were told they were out of napkins. Food tasted good but overall experience was subpar.

The food was ok. As the caption says, I’ve experienced better. We experienced a longer than usual wait time and observed that several drive thru customers waited for more than 30 minutes. They even had to come in because they were forgotten. I know what you’re thinking, or maybe not. It was the weekend of the 4^th, but the place was no where near crowded and they were adequately staffed. I’ll chalk it up to slow service. However, having been in the service industry, I understand. I just think they could do a little better. Ok. A lot.

Normally I would go to Champy’s when looking for fried chicken in Chattanooga but I happened to be passing by Popeye’s on Broad Street at lunch time so I stopped in for a snack.
I ordered a two piece dark with slaw and red beans and rice. The chicken was good and hot — Popeye’s spice level has always been spot on for my taste. I am not a blazing hot, bring tears to your eyes type of chicken guy.
The slaw was good and the beans and rice were alright.
What makes this Popeye’s stand out (like any other above average chain store) was the folks working there. They were friendly, helpful, and genuinely concerned that I had everything I needed and that I liked my food. That type of attitude is rare in the quick service industry and for understandable reasons too.
It was their attention to detail that made my lunch stand out and I appreciate that more than they know (I did tell the manager that her store was outstanding)!

The portions were no even close to what is advertised on TV. The chicken strips was small with more crust than chicken. The service was fast, but young people need to know that elderly folks don’t always hear well and when they talk fast, not looking at you and in an Afro American dialect it makes it very difficult to order and that is the way it was here. Attitude goes a long way in a place of business. If you act like you don’t care if I am there or not next time I probably will not be there.
I was excited about going here after seeing the advertisement on TV, but it will be a long time before I return.

I wish we could rate individual aspects of each restaurant.
The food is on general very fresh and they have wonderful menu’s.
The service is rarely good. We seem to almost always have to repeat our orders and the wait time (drive thru) is atrocious on anything except the pre-​made boned chicken. 9 out of 10 times we are asked to pull up and park next to a smelly trash can to await our orders.
We have experienced higher than normal wait times inside also.
Approximately half of the time our orders are not correct (missing items, wrong items, substitutions incorrect) which adds to the wait time.
We used to go fairly often because of the quality and flavor of the food but the service is a major turn off so we don’t go as often as we would like to.

They have best fried chicken of all the fast food restaurants. Their biscuits are the best anywhere. I usually get extras to put honey on in the morning for breakfast.
The service is usually fast but sometimes they get behind for some reason. For example, today I had to wait 12 minutes for them cook the legs and wings to make my order complete. I been to Popeyes numerous times and service most of the time fast and friendly. With that said, I’m still giving them an overall 5 stars review.

This place is better than KFC. Tender juicy chicken with very good breading. The red beans and rice is really good with a nice smokey taste to it. Oh and true chicken us not greasy like other chicken places I have been to.