Popeye’s Is Escalating Its “Beef” With Chick-Fil-A

For two chicken companies, the “beef” is starting to reach a fever pitch.

On Sunday, November 3, Popeye’s will be bringing back its chicken sandwich, specifically targeting a day of the week when rival Chick-Fil-A isn’t open, according to Bloomberg. 

The chain hopes that the sandwich will bring in more customers as competition in the world of fast food continues to grow, as we pointed out in a recent article about the industry’s growing debt problems. 

The sandwich made its original debut in August and sold out within weeks. Now, for the second go-around, franchisees are making sure they are fully staffed to meet the demand. 

Popeye’s reported comp sales of 9.7% on Monday, almost twice analyst projections, as a result of the sandwich’s popularity. It was called one of the company’s “best quarters in two decades” by parent company Restaurant Brands’ CEO Jose Cil. 

Competitor Chick-Fil-A has closed on Sundays since 1946, when the practice was made tradition by the company’s founder. 

Restaurant Brands also owns Burger King and is not only facing leverage headwinds and a slowing global economy, but also declining customer traffic. Competitors like McDonald’s are raising prices in order to try and offset the slowdown.