Popeyes to Take Over Richfield, Twin Cities KFC Restaurants

Popeyes, the nation's second larges fried chicken chain, is nipping at the heels of Kentucky Fried Chicken, the nation's largest chain, as it makes a major push to strengthen its presence in the Twin Cities.

According to the Star Tribune, AFC Enterprises, Popeyes' Atlanta-based parent company, agreed to buy 14 Twin Cities KFC restaurants from a bankrupt KFC franchisee. The Richfield location at the HUB Shopping Center is one of the restaurants slated for sale. Other locations include those in Hopkins, Savage, Rosemount and Bloomington.

Currently, Popeyes has just one Twin Cities restaurant location on Lake Street in Minneapolis near Uptown. A total of 28 restaurants are part of the $13.8 million deal, with other restaurant outlets in northern California, according to the Star Tribune article.

KFC's parent, Yum Brands Inc., isn't exactly pleased with the Popeyes take over. The company said KFC "intends to make every effort to see that as many restaurants as possible continue to operate as KFC restaurants with the same employee teams but under new ownership."

Read the full Star Tribune article.

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