Popeyes closed last year on the Polish market with the number of 31 restaurants, 20 of which were opened in 2025. The iconic chain of fast food restaurants, founded in the 1970s in Louisiana (USA), has been present in Poland since 2023. The first restaurant was opened in Wrocław, in Pasaż Grunwaldzki. Since then, the dynamics of the chain's expansion in Poland has been growing and Popeyes has ambitious plans for the coming years. To balance the outflow of customers from shopping malls, the company is considering, among others: diversification of the offer and new business formats.
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New format of Popeyes restaurants in Poland
In an interview with Business Insider in December 2025, Jerzy Tymofiejew, CEO of Rex Concepts, announced that by the end of 2031 Popeyes plans to have 200 locations in Poland. There are 31 of them for now, but more are planned.
“Our appetite is much greater. In 2026, we plan to maintain high expansion dynamics. Our goal map includes, among others: Gdańsk, Łódź, Bydgoszcz, Toruń or Lublin” – announces Michał Różycki in an interview with Property News. He adds that to these cities Popeyes plans to enter the “In-line street” format, i.e. outlets opened on the main shopping streets of large cities. This includes, among others: to attract “pedestrian traffic independent of shopping centers”.
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Regardless of the new restaurant format, the Popeyes chain plans to continue its presence in shopping centers, taking advantage of the trend of spending time in such places. Although the company recorded a 2% drop in visits to such places, it also observed a much greater determination of customers who come there not to shop, but to a specific restaurant.
The American chain is also expanding its network of drive-thru outlets, as well as its made-to-order food delivery system. It does not plan to switch to the popular franchise model in the coming years, it is focusing on the ownership model, which gives it greater control over the proper functioning of the chain.
