AFC Enterprises, which once owned such brands as Cinnabon and Church’s Chicken, is taking the name of its remaining fast-food property, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.
The new Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., started trading today on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol PLKI.
“The Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen name has been used in our restaurants since 2008,” Popeyes Chief Executive Officer Cheryl Bachelder said in a release. “This name is among the most visible expressions of our Louisiana heritage and differentiates Popeyes in the marketplace. With this name change, we continue to leverage our brand identity and the strategy that has driven our industry-leading results.”
AFC, which was once known America’s Favorite Chicken Co., owned a number of chains at the turn of the new century, including Torrefazione Italia Coffee and a stake in Seattle’s Best Coffee. The company sold off all its assets — except Popeyes, then known as Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits — by the mid-2000s after the economy slumped and the company had to restate earnings for at least two years.
