Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is hardly a household name in Canada, unlike U.S. fast-food franchise royalty such as McDonald’s Corp. or Burger King Corp. But the mid-sized U.S. restaurant chain and others like it have their sights set on expansion to the north.
Andrew Skehan, international chief operating officer for Atlanta-based Popeyes, said his chain now has 63 locations in Ontario, most of them clustered in the Greater Toronto Area. New outlets, including one in downtown Toronto’s east end that opened recently, keep cropping up.
“Canada is certainly one of our growth markets. Our business is very healthy up there,†Mr. Skehan said in an interview. “Compared with the U.S., your economy has weathered the recession much better.†Continue reading.