This angry NJ town is getting a Popeyes no one wants

Remember when Popeyes came out with a chicken sandwich and what was already a wildly popular chicken joint became almost a cultural phenomenon? If you hadn't tried it yet you were like an outcast. And those who tried it couldn't stop going back. It was described as addictive.

Apparently that’s a party some folks in Burlington Township, New Jersey, were never invited to.

The Burlington County town of 24,000 has a lot of angry people upset about a new Popeyes moving in. A developer wants to tear down two houses to make room for a 2,500-square-foot Popeyes on Mount Holly Road diagonally across the intersection from the Lidl grocery store. It would have 24 seats and a drive-thru.

Much to the fast-food-horror of residents the planning board voted in favor Thursday night by a 7-2 vote.

The problem?

Seems like everything.

Neighbors spoke for 45 minutes at the board meeting with sentiments like, “Why would somebody want a Popeyes in their backyard?”

They have a big problem with the traffic they say it will bring. Residents believe their neighborhood behind the Popeyes will be used as a cut-through. One concerned citizen said they're "going to see an overabundance of people making illegal (left) turns” into Kelly Drive from the restaurant.

Another complained that if the planning board was trying to improve the community they should have steered the developer to an already vacant storefront.

Still others complained about fast food in general and the nutritional value of Popeyes' menu and that there were too many chicken joints around town already.

Phew! That board got an earful. But they pointed out to the angry citizenry that this project is taking place in a commercial area zoned to allow for a quick-serve restaurant. When all was said and done they voted to move the project forward.

Angry voters will just have to take it out at the polls. Or get some of those amazing Popeyes biscuits and try to chill out.

Now the wrath surprises me somewhat since Popeyes is such a well-known national chain. They're in 49 states and the District of Columbia.  If it were some dark horse chain out west no one ever heard of before in New Jersey I could see a little more skepticism.

In fact, that's pretty common for a fast found chain to be well-known but only in a certain region of the country. Sure you've heard of White Castle before which is bigger in the Midwest but make a game of this list of 20 regional fast-food chains and see how many others you've heard of. My number was 5. Read on and see if you can beat me. How many of these 20 have you even heard of?

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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