Popeyes submits plans for Green Bay location expected to open this fall | Streetwise

GREEN BAY - The wait is over, Brown County.

The first local salvo in the chicken sandwich wars has been fired now that a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchise operator has submitted plans to open a location on the northeast corner of West Mason and Taylor streets.

Marc Rodgriguez, CEO of Arkansas-based SmitCo Eateries, confirmed Popeyes will come to Green Bay this fall. He said the company is in discussions to buy the former Burger House 41 property at 1860 W. Mason St.

"Our goal is to try to be open before the (Green Bay Packers) football season kicks off," Rodriguez said.

Kevin Vonck, economic development director for the city of Green Bay, said building plans have been submitted to the city that call for demolition of the Burger House 41 building and construction of a new Popeyes with a drive-thru and ample parking. The building has also been home to Gilly's Frozen Custard and Storheim's.

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Vonck said redevelopment of the site would help energize the west-side commercial area between Interstate 41 and the Military Avenue Business Improvement District.

"It will be good to see something new there," Vonck said. "A lot of what's there is 20-30 years old now. The businesses there aren't struggling, but there is a lot of parking and outlots and it's important to think about the next phase of what happens out there."

Rodriguez said SmitCo has the franchise rights for 15 Popeyes locations in Wisconsin, from Manitowoc to La Crosse. The first three opened last year in Manitowoc, Grand Chute and Fond du Lac.

Green Bay might be the only new location for Popeyes to open this year based on SmitCo's timing and the time it will take to find suitable locations in other communities.

"Obviously, we'll build in communities like Oshkosh and Sheboygan and then westward to Stevens Point and Wausau, but we never know when the next one will be ready," he said. "It's property driven, so we take them when they come. We're not at a point where we're OK on any other locations, so it will probably only be Green Bay this year."

Vonck said a rezoning request needed to allow Popeyes to build on the property will have its first reading by the Green Bay City Council on Tuesday. He said the rezoning and building plans could be approved as soon as early April.

"We can't give it final approval until the zoning is in place, but they wanted some feedback from us to coincide with some potential approvals in April," Vonck said.

The Green Bay location will have to be something pretty special to beat Popeyes' arrival in the Appleton area last fall. The restaurant's opening there in August coincided with the opening of a Chick-fil-A nearby and fierce competition among fans over which chain's chicken sandwich is the best.

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"The timing of Appleton's opening gave you the natural storyline of Popeyes versus Chick-fil-A and then the chicken sandwich wars," Rodriguez said. "It was crazy."

Rodriguez said the interest in the Appleton location's opening made its opening "the most successful launch of a Popeyes franchise-wide in 2019."