First look as American fried chicken chain opens restaurant in Meadowhall Shopping Centre

The restaurant at Meadowhall Shopping Centre opened on Tuesday - with queues starting from 7am to be the first to taste the Louisiana chicken.

Customers were officially welcomed in from 11am on Tuesday - but Fiona and Adam were the first in the queue after arriving at 7am.

Fiona said: "We’ve already visited the Rotherham drive-thru restaurant and love it so we decided to come down early to be the first in the queue in Meadowhall."

Mohammed, who has attended both the Meadowhall and Barnsley launches added: "I had to come back with my friends, it’s the chicken, it's so tender, spicy, juicy, crispy. The marination is banging, the flavours stay on the chicken and I can’t get enough."

To bring the spirit of New Orleans to Meadowhall, Popeyes hosted a live Mardi Gras style band, the Brass Funkeys, alongside a full-day pop-up event starting from 10am outside the new restaurant in the Meadowhall Shopping Centre.

The pop-up featured a range of fun-filled activities, such as a photo booth, a professional face painter and a ‘Spin to Win’ wheel which brings the brand’s popular online Winner Winner Chicken Spinner game to life, where fans can play the game both online and in-person to win some amazing prizes.

The Meadowhall restaurant will offer Popeyes’ full menu, including the ‘shatter crunch’ chicken, and the Popeyes Breakfast menu.

Tom Crowley, chief executive officer at Popeyes UK said: "As we open our third Popeyes restaurant in Yorkshire, we are delighted by the enthusiastic response to the new Meadowhall store, where fans lined up from early morning for our famous Chicken Sandwiches. We’re really pleased to continue the growth of the brand around the UK."

Popeyes will also be offering a free Big Cajun Roll on Wednesday, November 1 from 8am to the first 25 customers in the queue at the new restaurant.