Popeyes chicken franchise planned for Mankato
May 5—MANKATO — South-central Minnesotans learned three years ago not to count their fried chickens until they're hatched.
But after seeing a promised Popeyes franchise fail to materialize in 2020, chicken fans can restart their saliva glands. The franchise appears closer than ever to bringing southern-style chicken, shrimp and New Orleans-themed side dishes to Mankato — this time in a new building adjacent to Mills Fleet Farm.
In September of 2020, a developer listed as "SCM 10X Mankato 1920 LLC" brought plans to the city of Mankato to add a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, complete with a drive-thru, in the strip mall between Applebee's and the Hilltop Hy-Vee that is home to Five Guys and Jersey Mike's.
The news brought much rejoicing among local fans of the chain, which has approximately 2,000 locations worldwide but none in outstate Minnesota.
By February 2021, though, an architect hired for the project had bad news for Free Press readers: "It's dead."
Documents have now been submitted to the city by another developer with a long history of building Popeyes franchises in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, Virginia and elsewhere.
The Parikh Network, also known as PN Restaurants, Inc., of Edison, New Jersey, didn't respond to a request by The Free Press for comment. But the firm was showing interest in greater Minnesota as early as 2021 when the Post-Bulletin reported PN Restaurants was planning one or two Popeyes locations in Rochester. And it is listed as the developer of the Mankato restaurant in a lengthy set of plans filed recently with the city.
The plans show a new 2,500-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru just west of the Fleet Farm gas station at the intersection of Highway 22 and North Victory Drive. So over the course of three years, the chicken crossed a pair of roads — Highway 22 and Highway 14 — and found a new partner but appears to be well on its way toward the deep fryer.
Already, a 78-page drainage plan has been developed for the building site, 23 pages of detailed structural engineering designs have been completed and architectural drawings have been finalized.
If the plans become reality, the Mankato Popeyes could be the first in outstate Minnesota — or possibly the third. The Popeyes website currently lists eight Minnesota locations, all in the Twin Cities. The Rochester locations appear more likely to open first based on a June report in the Post-Bulletin that they were expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Popeyes traces its origins to suburban New Orleans in 1972. By the 50th anniversary of the first restaurant, the number had grown to more than 1,500 in the United States and roughly 2,000 when international locations are included.
The chain emphasizes its New Orleans roots, promising chicken "marinated for 12 hours in our traditional savory Louisiana herbs and seasonings then battered up with our crunchy southern coating and fried until golden brown." The menu also includes shrimp, red beans and rice, buttermilk biscuits and mashed potatoes with cajun gravy.
