020906 Popeyes Chicken Expands into Mexico

Atlanta, GA - Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, a division of AFC Enterprises, Inc., announces that it has recently expanded into Mexico with its first restaurant in Monterrey. The new Popeyes restaurant is franchised by Grupo Proalimex, S.A. de C.V. who has signed an agreement with Popeyes to develop 19 more restaurants in the northeast region of Mexico. With the addition of the Monterrey restaurant, Popeyes now has 296 international restaurants.

``Popeyes has performed extremely well in other Central American countries, and we believe it will be very successful in Mexico,'' said Tony Pavese, Chief Operating Officer of Popeyes International. ``We are very excited to have Grupo Proalimex as part of the Popeyes family. They bring a wealth of restaurant experience to the table, and we look forward to a strong and prosperous relationship with them.''

Grupo Proalimex currently operates Applebee's restaurants in the northeast region of Mexico. ``We were looking for additional opportunities to expand in the restaurant business and are excited about this new opportunity with Popeyes,'' said Ricardo Garza, the principal franchisee of Grupo Proalimex.

The new restaurant in Monterrey was designed in the Popeyes heritage image that features unique French Quarter architecture evoking Popeyes' Louisiana heritage. Gooseneck lighting, balconies and colorful murals all help to generate thoughts and images of food, music and fun that represent the personality of New Orleans. In addition, Popeyes Radio educates customers about Popeyes' Louisiana-inspired culture and menu and entertains them with great music from jazz to zydeco.

The restaurant serves Popeyes' delicious Louisiana-influenced menu designed to appeal to flavor-seeking people. The menu features Popeyes' signature New Orleans-style spicy and mild chicken, delicious Louisiana-style seafood such as Cajun Popcorn shrimp and fish, as well as a line of side items that include Cajun rice, mashed potatoes with Cajun gravy and the brand's world-famous red beans & rice.

``Popeyes will be looking to expand in Mexico through additional exclusive territory franchise developers,'' said Russ Sumrall, Vice President of International Development for Popeyes. ``We are seeking quality franchisees, like Ricardo Garza of Grupo Proalimex, to develop our restaurants in multi-state territories throughout Mexico. We hope that in the next few years the great tastes of Popeyes will be found in restaurants across all of Mexico.''

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