"Popeyes is very excited about expanding our presence in both Raleigh and Greensboro,'' said Marge Barnette, vice president of New Business Development for Popeyes. "These are high-growth markets, and we want to grow right along with them. Partnering with Saratoga will help us do that.''
Saratoga Food Group currently operates 17 Popeyes locations in Virginia and North Carolina. The deal, when coupled with previous commitments, would lead to the development of 65 Saratoga-owned Popeyes restaurants by 2010. In addition, Saratoga recently began operating two Popeyes-owned restaurants in Fayetteville, NC.
"We are very excited to have an experienced restaurant operator such as the Saratoga Food Company as a part of the AFC Enterprises family who will take the taste of Popeyes to even more people on the eastern seaboard,'' said Jon Luther, president of Popeyes. "This partnership will allow us to continue to increase our presence in areas that we have targeted for future growth.''
Conceived in 1997 by Joseph and Ann Simone, Saratoga Food Group, LLC develops, builds and operates Popeyes restaurants and develops area real estate. Popeyes named the Saratoga Food Group as its "2000 Developer of the Year'' at its convention in April.
