During the meeting, the company recognized top operators in the areas of marketing, operations, development, and leadership. Also honored at the meeting were a Vendor of the Year, Supplier of the Year and a Distributor of the Year.

Popeyes presents Gold and Silver Plate Awards to the very best restaurants in the system. These restaurants excel operationally, positively represent the brand's image and effectively use Popeyes training tools.

Additionally, restaurants are evaluated on sales performance, overall execution of the Popeyes concept, and leadership as demonstrated by the restaurant manager and his or her team. The 2011 Silver Plate Award winners are:

 

• Brodersen Enterprises of Wisconsin, Inc. — Restaurant #2189, Milwaukee, WI
• Brodersen Enterprises of Michigan, LLC — Restaurant #10301, Flint, MI
• Brodersen Enterprises of Michigan, LLC — Restaurant #10833, Oak Park, MI
• Brodersen Enterprises of Michigan, LLC — Restaurant #10834, Detroit, MI
• 1822058 Ontario, Inc. — Restaurant #11095, London, Canada

 

Silver Plate Award recipients are eligible to receive the most coveted Popeyes award – the Gold Plate Award. The 2011 Popeyes Gold Plate Award winners for domestic and international franchisees, respectively, are:

• Brodersen Enterprises of Illinois, LLC, Restaurant #10923, Chicago, IL
• Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), Restaurant #10492, Osan AFB, Korea

"It is always a difficult task to select the Gold Plate Award winners as the criteria are extremely rigorous and the recipients truly represent the pinnacle of operations excellence,” says Cheryl Bachelder, CEO.

“This year it was especially challenging with the enormously high quality of Silver Plate Award honorees to select from. Not only did these restaurants support the brand in every way, but they went the extra mile to excel and are 'the best of the best'!"

Also at the conference, Popeyes named Army & Air Force Exchange Service as Franchisee of the Year. The Franchisee of the Year award recognizes the Popeyes franchisee that has distinguished itself through outstanding performance across all business areas as well as consistent support of and commitment to the Popeyes brand.

"The AAFES management team is always humble in their successes. They have shown the true Popeyes team spirit, and that's evident in everything that they do inside and outside of their businesses," Bachelder says.

At the conference, Popeyes also recognized franchise operators with these awards:

• Build Distinctive Brand (Marketing) – John Edmundson
• Run Great Restaurants (Operations) – John Brodersen
• Accelerate Quality Restaurants (Development) – Amish and Ashish Parikh
• Emerging Leader – Z&H Foods, Inc. and London Investment Group
• DMA of the Year – Atlanta, Georgia
• William A. Copeland Lifetime Achievement Award – Jerry Friedlander and Jan Strompf, Janjer Enterprises, Inc.

Popeyes named GSD&M as the Vendor of the Year, Huhtamaki/Paris Packaging as the Supplier of the Year, and CDI as the Distributor of the Year.

"We are proud to work with great vendors, suppliers and distributors like GSD&M, Huhtamaki/Paris Packaging, and CDI," Bachelder says.

"Honoring them is our way of saying thank you for their dedication to the brand and our guests."

Founded in 1972 in New Orleans, Popeyes now has 2,035 operating restaurants in the United States, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Cayman Islands and 25 foreign countries.