Popeyes Coming to West St. Paul

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The fast food franchise Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is coming to West St. Paul. They’ll be located at the former Burger King location at 1650 Robert Street South, after a legal settlement is finalized with the city.

Details: No specifics yet as a full application and site plan are expected in the next 90 days.

Legal issues: On Monday, West St. Paul City Council will approve a settlement with Burger King going back to 2013. The settlement resolves a series of issues and clears the way for the Popeyes redevelopment.

• Easements: It starts back in 2013 with eminent domain proceedings on a portion of the Burger King property for the Robert Street reconstruction project.
• Settlement: They reached a settlement in 2017 with the city paying $192,000 and securing access from the nextdoor Walmart and Hobby Lobby parking lots. The access was never secured and the payment never made.
• Ownership: Meanwhile, Burger King closed in 2018, pitched a new restaurant in 2021, tore the old building down, and then transferred ownership in 2022 and the new restaurant stalled.
• Violations: In 2024 the city filed a civil action against Burger King for multiple code violations related to the vacant lot.
• Final: This agreement should address all the remaining issues and allow the former Burger King site to be redeveloped with a Popeyes restaurant. Burger King is leasing the property to their sister company Popeyes who in turn is subleasing to a local franchisee.

Chicken: Popeyes will join Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pollo Campero, Cane’s, Chick-fil-A, and Wingstop as fast food restaurants that primarily serve chicken on Robert Street.

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