Popeyes franchisee closes 17 restaurants in bankruptcy. See the full list of doomed locations

Fans of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen will be sad to learn that more than a dozen locations have shuttered this month across two Southeastern states.

The closures come after Sailormen Inc., a major Popeyes franchisee, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Florida on January 15.

Once the bankruptcy proceedings began, Sailormen immediately moved to shutter 17 Popeyes restaurants in Georgia and Florida, according to court records.

The company is now seeking to reject the leases at those locations where the beloved fried chicken fast-food restaurants formerly operated. The closures took place as recently as this week, according to a January 26 court docket.

It’s unclear if more restaurants will close. Fast Company reached out to Sailormen and Popeyes for comment.

Why did Sailormen file for bankruptcy?

As Fast Company reported earlier this month, Sailormen cited a number of factors that led up to its bankruptcy petition, including high inflation and borrowing rates, and foot traffic that never fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Restaurant Brands International (RBI), which owns Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen along with major chains such as Burger King and Tim Hortons, has faced increasing competition in the so-called fast food chicken wars.

Notably, younger generations are turning to fast-growing brands like Raising Cane’s and Dave’s Hot Chicken.

With more than 5,000 locations worldwide, Popeyes is still the far larger chain, but RBI reported a decline in same-store sales for the brand for three consecutive quarters last year.

Which Popeyes have closed?

Sailormen said in a court filing that it closed eight locations on January 19, five locations on January 20, and four locations on January 22. It characterized the restaurants as “underperforming.”

The full list of locations is below:

Florida

• 2005 Ohio Avenue North Live Oak, FL 32064
• 1601 South US Highway Ft. Pierce, FL 34950
• 5156 S. Dale Mabry Highway Tampa, FL 33611
• 2729 S.E. Highway 70 Arcadia, FL 34266
• 175 South Highway 17 East Palatka, FL 32131
• 649 S. McDuff Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32205
• 1124 N. Young Boulevard Chiefland, FL 32626
• 27740 US 27 Leesburg, FL 34748
• 200 Green Way Keystone Heights, FL 32656
• 812 South 6th Street Macclenny, FL 32063
• 1833 Kings Road Jacksonville, FL 32209
• 2015 North Wickham Road Melbourne, FL 32935

Georgia

• 401 N. 1st Street, Jesup, GA 31545
• 2106 Memorial Drive Waycross, GA 31501
• 1610 S. Georgia Parkway West Waycross, GA 31503
• 68 West Coffee Street Hazlehurst, GA 31539
• 3319 Altama Avenue Brunswick, GA 31520