Popeyes Chicken Sandwich, Internet Superstar

(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc.'s buttermilk fried chicken has long had a devoted following. The late Anthony Bourdain praised it in interviews. Nicki Minaj put it on her tour rider. Beyoncé has a special membership card giving her a free supply for life. Despite the adoration, for 47 years the chain had never offered the chicken between two pieces of bread.

That changed in August when Popeyes tweeted that it was selling a $3.99 sandwich—fried chicken topped with pickles and either mayonnaise or spicy Cajun sauce on a brioche bun—at its 2,400 U.S. locations. The news went viral after a Twitter spat: Following Popeyes' announcement, Chick-fil-A Inc. made a passive-aggressive claim that its sandwich was the “original.” Popeyes replied, “y'all good?”

Popeyes had prepared for franchises to sell about 60 sandwiches a day; in many cases, it was closer to 1,000. Customers waited in line for hours. Some listed sandwiches on EBay with asking prices up to $7,000. When Popeyes ran out, locations offered a BYOB sandwich—an order of fried chicken for people who brought their own buns. In November, Popeyes restocked the sandwich, and at one location the frenzy turned deadly: A man was stabbed and killed outside a Maryland restaurant by another customer who accused him of cutting in line. The company still hasn't nailed down its supply chain—some Popeyes ran out of the sandwich a second time—but its viral sensation has helped it post its best numbers in more than two decades.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bret Begun at bbegun@bloomberg.net, Jeremy Keehn

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