On Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008 a man who was known throughout the New Orleans Metropolitan area lost his battle with cancer and passed away. The man, the icon was named Al Copeland. He was the founder of Popeye’s Famous Fried Chicken and Biscuts. He was born and raised in a poor area and lived in public housing as a child. It was through skills learned working for his brother at a doughnut franchise that Mr. Copeland attained the skills he used to create his chicken empire. He led an extravagant life filled with large homes, beautiful wives, 9 children and a fleet of fast cars, boats and bikes. He is well known in the New Orleans area for his annual Christmas light display that began at his home in Metairie and moved to his corporate offices when the display and ensuing traffic jams became too large for his home. He created a multi-million dollar empire in Popeys but lost his rights to fun the business when his creditors took over the chain during a bankrupcy ruling. Being the business man that he was Mr. Copeland smartly kept control of several of the Popeys food chain assets including those that provide the seasonings and other materials needed by the resteraunts. This move assured Mr. Copeland that he would continue to make millions throughout his life. His marraiges were as wild as his life was. He had several highly publicized divorces and was involved in an investigation into a New Orleans judge who alledgely accepted bribes from Mr. Copeland’s lawyers in exchange for favorable rulings in his divorce and custody case. This was a man who lived large and fast. He will be greatly missed as one of New Orleans’ great resteraunteers. He later opened several food chains that include Copeland’s, Fire and Ice, Cheesecake Bistro and Straya. Each chain has their own flavor and style and allowed him to appeal to people of every walk of life. Mr. Copeland passed away in Munich, Germany where he had gone to receive treatment for his salivary cancer. He will be missed.
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oh wow! I ate at his Cheesecake Bistro yesterday for lunch. Boy was it yummy. I remember his boats and cars (the white ones with pink and teal on them) at the mardi gras parades and sitting in Destin out front of the walmart.
Some regarded this guy derisively as new rich white trash. Some are born on third base and think they hit a triple. This guy hit his own stand-up triple — H/S dropout and for a time lived in the projects.
From the Times Picayune article – “After six months, Chicken on the Run was still losing money. In a last-ditch effort, Copeland chose a spicier Louisiana Cajun-style recipe and reopened the restaurant as Popeyes. In its third week of operation, Copeland’s revived chicken restaurant broke the profit barrier.”
Interesting what a small change can make in one’s destiny.