When you come from NOLA, crazy backstories are kind of par for the course. But even the city’s fast-food joints have histories that make BW3's figure skating background look commonplace. The Popeyes tale rests on Al Copeland, a larger-than-life chicken mogul known for his (literal) showboating, lavish weddings, and public fights with vampire ladies. Seriously. We also threw in a few stories about the chicken chain's trademark jingle and famous fans, but you're going to want to read that whole Copeland saga below in order to fully appreciate the wonders of Popeyes chicken. We can only imagine the shenanigans he's getting into with JFK and Howard Hughes in the sky as we speak.
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1. The chain is named for Gene Hackman, not the sailor
Everyone assumes Popeyes is named for the cartoon character, but the honor actually goes to a fictional ’70s detective. Founder Al Copeland named his place for Gene Hackman’s character from The French Connection, Popeye Doyle, basically because he liked the dude’s style. And considering Doyle provided the blueprint for every modern car chase scene, we can’t argue.
