1972–1976
A hero is born
Popeyes launches in the New Orleans area in 1972 and begins franchising four years later.
The buffet era lives!
All the fried chicken, biscuits, Cajun sides, and wonderfully weird history you could handle—in one fan-made archive.
All-you-can-eat chicken★
Buttermilk biscuits★
Cajun sides★
Blackened catfish★
Beer★
Daiquiris★
One super-sized story★
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The origin story
Once upon a time just outside New Orleans, a special Popeyes operated more like a neighborhood restaurant than a fast-food stop. Locals knew it as Super Popeyes.
A surviving flyer places it at 3850 Veterans Boulevard in Metairie around 1993. The menu stretched far beyond the usual chicken and biscuits: grilled platters, fajitas, ribs, salads, desserts, and new blackened specialties all made the roster.
At some locations, the grown-up menu stretched to the bar, too, with beer and daiquiris served alongside the chicken and Cajun sides.
Most legendary of all was the broader Popeyes experiment it came to represent: an all-you-can-eat buffet stacked with fried chicken, Cajun sides, biscuits, and occasional off-menu surprises.
Rise of the buffet
Mid-1980s
The buffet rises
Select restaurants begin experimenting with all-you-can-eat fried chicken buffets.
Early 1990s
Enter Super Popeyes
The Veterans Boulevard location sports its exuberant new name and a sprawling sit-down menu.
2000s
Katrina
Most buffets close or return to the standard quick-service format as the experiment winds down.
2017–2019
The last buffet
Lafayette’s W. Pinhook Road restaurant becomes known as the final Popeyes buffet in the world.
2021
End of an era
The Lafayette buffet does not return after the pandemic. Louisiana laments a great loss.
The buffet’s most
famous fan.
In February 2018, while filming the Cajun Country episode of Parts Unknown, Anthony Bourdain found the W. Pinhook Road restaurant in Lafayette—then celebrated as the last remaining Popeyes buffet—and ate there three days in a row.
His order ran to spicy fried chicken, mac and cheese, biscuits with gravy, and a fountain Dr Pepper. After ten days of travel, he said he would “weep with gratitude at macaroni and cheese.”
Seen in the wild
One of the rare surviving looks inside Popeyes’ buffet experiment. Exact location, date, and photographer are currently unknown.
A rare exterior view showing the restaurant’s distinctive façade and rooftop wordmark. Exact date and photographer are currently unknown.
A look down the buffet line at the W. Pinhook Road restaurant—the final known Popeyes buffet.
The unmistakable sign that welcomed diners to the Lafayette buffet line.
Artifacts from the era
One of the few surviving visual records is this double-sided flyer preserved by the New Orleans Public Library’s City Archives & Special Collections. Tap either side to inspect every gloriously loud detail.
Acadiana Salad and the full Blackened Chicken Platter—each listed at $5.99.
Grilled chicken, beef, fajitas, ribs, salads, soups, desserts, and blackened catfish.
Source: New Orleans Public Library, City Archives & Special Collections, Menu Collection. Consult the library regarding reuse permissions.
Clippings & further reading
- New Orleans Public LibraryOriginal Super Popeyes flyer & menu ↗
- Eater New OrleansThe last Popeyes buffet in the world ↗
- Food & WineAmerica’s last Popeyes buffet closes ↗
- The Daily MealWhatever happened to Popeyes’ buffet? ↗
- MashedWhy the closure marked the end of an era ↗
- LiveJournal community archiveFan memories from the original Super Popeyes community ↗
Help complete the story.
Did you eat at Super Popeyes on Veterans or Severn—or at an old buffet in Lafayette, Huntsville, or Panama City? Share the details, photos, menus, napkins, or memorabilia you remember.