May 13—"Love that chicken" is the popular tag line associated with Popeyes, and fans of the fast food franchise in Lake County should love where the newest restaurant is opening.

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is set to open its first Lake County location in the previous Wendy's site in Mentor located at 7635 Mentor Ave. According to the Lake County Auditor website, the building was built in 1976 with Wendy's occupying it in 2000.

Kelly Conrad, executive director of the Mentor Economic Assistance Corporation, said the city does not have an opening date for Popeyes as of yet.

"The continuation of new businesses choosing to locate within the city of Mentor shows that the city of Mentor is vibrant in economic growth," Conrad said.

According to the Popeyes website, Alvin C. Copeland Sr. opened "Chicken on the Run" in the New Orleans suburb of Arabi in 1972, serving traditional Southern-fried chicken. After several months of lackluster performance, he reopens the restaurant as "Popeyes" after Popeye Doyle, the main character in the movie "The French Connection", this time selling spicy, New Orleans-style chicken.

According to the website, in 1976, Popeyes opened its first franchise restaurant in Louisiana. In 1984, Popeyes went global and expanded to Toronto, Canada.

In 2001, Popeyes became the No. 2 quick-service chicken chain based on number of units.

In 2008, the Popeyes brand reinvented itself as Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen based on its long-standing roots in Louisiana-inspired home cooking. This includes a new logo, new products and a new advertising campaign touting "LOUISIANA Fast."

Some of the most popular items on the menu include the chicken sandwich, ghost pepper wings, popcorn shrimp, chicken tenders and nuggets, cajun fries and biscuits.

According to the website, Popeyes now has more than 3,700 restaurants globally.

The closest Popeyes location to Lake County currently is 26030 Euclid Ave. in Euclid.