When Popeyes first got its start, you would have to go to Louisiana to enjoy some of the best fast food chicken in existence. Since that time, however, Popeyes restaurants have popped up in many other areas.
Regardless of where the restaurant happens to be, however, they have taken a little bit of New Orleans architecture along with them.
Somebody posted information on Twitter after noticing that Popeyes drive-through lanes go under a balcony.
Although it looks somewhat realistic, it’s not actually useable because the windows are fake and nobody is ever on the balcony. Most people wouldn’t give this a second thought if they were at a four-star restaurant, but seeing it at a fast-food restaurant opens up some questions.
In order to determine why this architectural piece was included in every Popeyes restaurant, Architecture + Branding weighs in.
It seems as if the balcony was borrowed from a Mardi Gras tradition where people toss beads from the balconies down to Bourbon Street. Although you won’t see anything being thrown off the balcony at Popeyes, the design may make you think about New Orleans when you see it.
Prior to the time that Popeyes became a reality, the founder of the restaurant, Al Copeland, opened his first chicken restaurant in a suburb of New Orleans. That was back in 1972, and they went with the slogan, “So fast, you get your chicken before you get your change’.” They don’t use that slogan any longer, but you can see why it was an easy switch over to “Louisiana fast.”