Some ideas are so obvious that you can’t believe no one has done it before. When caveperson Ug the Younger decided to fix a couple of spinning disks to the bottom of whatever it was they were dragging around, the rest of the village must have felt like a right bunch of wallies. This, we can only assume, is similar to how popular restaurant chain Popeyes must be feeling now that they have finally decided to join the rest of the industry and started selling a sandwich.
For the first time in the business’ history, Popeyes customers will finally be able to get their hands on what is the franchise’s first ever nationally available fried chicken burger, according to a report in Thrillist. Featuring a buttermilk-battered chicken fillet, a spread of either spicy Cajun sauce or traditional mayonnaise, two pickle chips, and a blanket of pillowy brioche bun, the new item certainly promises to be a sensation. Which makes it all the more remarkable that they have never done it before.
The new creation will be jointly promoted by Southern-style comfort food specialists Sweet Dixie Kitchen. In a press release confirming the partnership, owner Kim Sanchez said, "To be honest, I thought they were calling to sue me. We have a long history with Popeyes, but we’ve always said Popeyes chicken is the best fried chicken we ever had. So, we are thrilled to collaborate with them to launch and serve their delicious Popeyes Chicken Sandwich.”
This particular restaurant was actually responsible for one of the more dramatic fast food news stories of the last few years, when the owners were caught trying to pass Popeyes’ chicken as their own back in 2017. However, it looks like relations have improved considerably since then. As Bruno Cardinali, head of marketing in North America for Popeyes, said in a statement, “We feel honored that the team at Sweet Dixie Kitchen likes our chicken so much. To acknowledge their admiration, we are granting them special access to pre-launch our new Chicken Sandwich for a few days before we launch it nationally."
It might have been a long time coming, but it looks like Popeyes have finally woken up to the fact that fried chicken and bread is a match made in heaven. The new sandwich is set to hit stores on August 12th, which is certainly cause for celebration amongst fried chicken fans. Here’s hoping it lives up to the hype.
This article originally appeared on twistedfood.co.uk