Three young men waited 26 hours for Popeyes to open in Prague

People have been waiting in line since morning for the opening of the Prague Popeyes branch. The first three visitors received a voucher for a free chicken sandwich every day for the whole year. Representatives of the company said at the opening ceremony at 10:00 a.m. that the said trio of young men had been waiting outside the door of the branch for 26 hours.

According to Jan Kotrbáček, head of retail space leasing for Central and Eastern Europe at Cushman&Wakefield, the branch on Wenceslas Square will certainly be among the stores with the largest turnover in the Czech Republic and in Central and Eastern Europe. “Competitive brands on Wenceslas Square also have the most efficient stores in the entire region in this location,” he said. Popeyes opens its restaurant right next door to a branch of the KFC chain. In the coming months, the company wants to open one restaurant in Brno and another branch near Prague.

However, other fast food concepts are also considering entering the Czech or Central European market, added Kotrbáček. In recent years, he said, the chains have performed well, even though the retail market has been going through many challenges. For example, they adapt their design to new trends and look for innovations. “Good fast food concepts are really doing well in the Czech Republic and we are doing well compared to other countries. In addition, the center of Prague benefits from foreign clientele, which no other Central European cities can offer to such an extent,” he added.

The Popeyes brand is a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International, which has an annual turnover of over 40 billion USD (roughly 922 billion crowns) and operates over 30,000 restaurants worldwide in more than 100 countries. Rex Concepts introduced the chain to the Czech market. In the next ten years, he plans to open 60 restaurants in the Czech Republic.

Source: ČTK