Round two for me just now. In and out of the drive thru in 7 minutes. Of course it helped it was 10:45AM. Sandwich is really fucking good.
I have yet to try it. I’m someone who usually watches a movie that everyone is talking about 2 years later, so I can’t wait to revisit this thread in 11-21 to tell you all what I think of this sandwich.
This isn't my hill to die on nor do I really care that much about Popeye's ability to operate, but you very very clearly have no idea how food suppliers allocate. Popeye's uses a lot of different vendors and those vendors aren't exclusive to Popeye's. So they are continuing to supply the "corner bars" that we own while ignoring their multi-million dollar contract with Popeye's? Columbia has flat out said they didn't run out of chicken.
What I can confirm is that the buns come from Rotella’s, which has a bakery Just blocks from the second Popeyes I sampled this weekend. Talk about fresh buns.
The problem wasn’t the supplier. That has been explained on tv, other sites, and probably this thread.
Today is finally my day, boys. Currently eating a spicy w/ red beans and rice. Line was about 7 deep inside the restaurant, but I had my meal in about 10 minutes. Good sandwich.
One think I liked was an open letter posted on the door that they appreciate the interest in the sandwich, but emphasized that it is a permanent addition to the menu. AKA calm tf down, people.
Had the regular and spicy back to back on Friday. The regular sandwich was a solid fast food chicken sandwich - I'd say on par with CFA. That spicy sandwich was the fuckin' truth though. A+++ will buy again.
I never said they were exclusive to Popeyes. But Popeyes isn't using the same filet as BK or CFA. They can't just say "Oh you're out so size 12s? Ok give me some 8s." It would completely change the product. They didn't "run out of chicken." They ran out of the chicken that Popeyes is using. All chicken filets arent the same. Not sure why you refuse to acknowledge that. https://www-vox-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/the-goods/2019/9/6/20852676/popeyes-chicken-sandwich-chick-fil-a-sandwich-wars?amp_js_v=a2&_gsa=1&usqp=mq331AQCKAE=#aoh=15735074785325&referrer=https://www.google.com&_tf=From %1$s&share=https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/9/6/20852676/popeyes-chicken-sandwich-chick-fil-a-sandwich-wars According to Aaron Allen, CEO of the restaurant consultancy Aaron Allen & Associates, “quick-service restaurants have long used scarcity in their promotional tool kit,” but in this case, there may be more to the issue than just marketing. On average, he says, it takes a restaurant like Popeyes 18 months to put out a new menu, and ramping up production on a given product is a process that takes layers of approvals, paperwork (often, yes, with literal paper), and considerable risk on the part of the company’s decision-makers. The company has more than 2,400 locations, the vast majority of which are franchises, making it one of the biggest fried chicken chains in the country. ”If you’re filling a thousand restaurants with inventory, that’s millions and millions of dollars worth of product, and you’re telling the franchisees, ‘You’ve got to move faster than you’ve moved before because we’ve got to get this in.’ You’re going to get some resistance and pushback — not from the guests but from the internal structures,” he says. Buy too much, and you’re left with excess inventory and forced to take a loss; buy too little, and you’re in the situation Popeyes seems to be in right now. As Bloomberg noted, the shortage is particularly noteworthy given the glut of supply in the US market. With poultry companies expected to process a record 43.3 billion pounds of chicken this year, per government data, one would think Popeyes should be able to procure enough filets to feed the entire internet, but the reality is more complex. ”It comes down to the specifications of a certain product. Restaurant chains, particularly fast-food enterprises, don’t head to the big conglomerates, such as Tyson, and buy up massive chicken breasts,” wrote the restaurant supply chain consultancy Consolidated Concepts in a blog post about the shortage. “Their products are often made for quick turnaround and include breading, seasonings, or a specific size that requires additional processing.” And while Popeyes could no doubt push its suppliers to work overtime to get the ingredients to its franchises faster, says Allen, it would come at a cost, and the chain may be reluctant to sacrifice margin for speed. This isn’t the only supply-chain debacle to hit the industry in recent years; in February 2018, KFC was forced to temporarily close about 800 of its 900 UK restaurants after a logistics blunder caused it to run out of chicken. In that case, the company blamed its delivery partner, to which it had switched just a few weeks prior. It apologized with a full-page ad in several British newspapers that read, “A chicken restaurant without any chicken. It’s not ideal. Huge apologies to our customers, especially those who traveled out of their way to find we were closed.”
A lot of restaurants have their own burger blend. Its specific to them. Nobody else has it. If it became a thing on Twitter and they blew through 3 months of product in 2 weeks, they'd be in the same spot. Doesnt mean their supplier "ran out of beef" but they ran out of burgers of that blend and it would take some time to rebuild the supply. Thinking all chicken filets are the same is pretty dumb honestly.
dbl googling fast food product procurement logistics to argue on tmb is a perfect encapsulation of this board
FWIW I'm somewhat familiar with supply chains from my time in brewery/distributor relations. I'm not completely ignorant on the subject. For instance, if Miller Brewing Co made a special 12 pack specific to Wal Mart and Wal Mart blew through 3 months supply in 2 weeks bc Twitter made it a thing, they'd just be out. Not bc MBC ran out of Miller Lite but they ran out of that specific packaging and would need some time to make more. It's the same concept with Popeyes and their filets.
Was in and out of my local Popeyes in less than five minutes. Order correct and I didn’t get physically accosted in the process.
The Des Moines location say they’re waiting on equipment. Has to be a bun toaster, right? What else could be different?
At 4 th store now , they closed inside early. Drive thru only . Line 10 deep , previous 3 locations out of buns .
Finally went to get it. Ordered 6 sandwiches all together 2 for me one each for my two youngest daughters and one for my son my wife took two bites of hers and gave me the rest. I’ll have the other one tomorrow. Went through the drive thru and took about 15-20 mins (about 7 cars in line when we got there) it took an extra 5 minutes because of my wife’s blacken chicken strips. It is a decent chicken sandwich but it’s a chicken sandwich. I wouldn’t do much more than what I did today. I think it was just hyped up way too much. That said it is a lot better than the CFA sandwich.
third try today and it was the best one. helps that it's snowing here. in and out in less than five minutes. order was correct and the sandwich was the best one I've had so far. spicy mayo on both buns (neither of my previous experiences have had this). excellent.
I might try it this weekend. I’m not big on fried food, but it’s worth a try. There is a Popeyes about 5 min from my house, and it never looks like anyone is there, so hopefully it’s a smooth process.
tried to get one earlier tonight & they were sold out - I’ll get one in a few months once the hoopla dies down
Is this because it gives you fire hydrant shits or because you just don't like the texture/flavor/deliciousness of fried foods?
It’s why I can only eat stuff like this on the weekend when I can be at home. Fucks my stomach up because I rarely eat it. Totally worth it though.
Tastes good going down then proceeds to wreck my body after. It’s not healthy for you either, so I try to eat it only on occasion.