Popeyes restaurant proposed for New Kensington's Giant Eagle plaza
A restaurant that caused a nationwide sensation with its chicken sandwich could be coming to New Kensington soon.
A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant would be built in front of the Giant Eagle store along Tarentum Bridge Road, according to documents submitted to the city. The restaurant would be located between a GetGo gas station and a building housing Subway and a few other businesses, the documents show. Parking spaces are there now.
City Council on Tuesday approved a subdivision request from property owner Kensington Tarentum LLC. It creates a lot just under 1 acre for the restaurant.
Before construction can start, the project will need a recommendation from the city’s Planning Commission, a special exception from the Zoning Hearing Board and final approval from City Council, city Engineer Tony Males said.
The city’s Planning Commission is scheduled to review the project when it meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday at city hall.
A special exception is needed from the Zoning Hearing Board, which Males said is required for any drive-thru. It would then go to City Council for final approval as a conditional use, because it is expected to generate traffic of more than 1,000 vehicles a day, Males said.
The Gateway Engineers prepared the land development application for New Kensington Chicken LLC, which has an address in Rutherford, N.J. Images in the documents show a Popeyes pylon sign in the grass along Tarentum Bridge Road.
A Gateway representative could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The land development application said the restaurant would be 2,455 square feet. It would have two drive-thru lanes that merge into one, with parking around the perimeter of the parcel.
It would fully occupy the space between GetGo and the strip mall.
Popeyes is owned by Restaurant Brands International, which also owns the Tim Hortons and Burger King chains. It claims to have about $32 billion in annual sales and 27,000 restaurants in more than 100 countries and U.S. territories.
Restaurant Brands did not respond to a request for comment.
Popeyes was founded in 1972 in New Orleans. Its menu features fried chicken, chicken tenders and fried shrimp. It has more than 3,100 locations.
Popeyes’ website lists six locations in the Pittsburgh area.
In July, Harmar supervisors approved construction of a Popeyes next to an existing KFC on Harmar Landing Drive. Township officials said they expect it to open early next year.
In the summer of 2019, people were flocking to Popeyes for its new chicken sandwich. In August of that year, the restaurant chain announced that it had sold out of the sandwiches nationwide in 15 days. A month later, the chain was telling customers to bring their own buns to make sandwiches using three chicken tenders.
The popular sandwich made a return in October 2019, which Popeyes used as an opportunity to resume an online feud with Chik-fil-A.
Brian C. Rittmeyer, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Penn State University's Schreyer Honors College, has been with the Trib since December 2000. He can be reached at brittmeyer@triblive.com.
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