Popeyes Is Launching Its First-Ever Fried Chicken Sandwich. Yes, the First.

By Kat Thompson

Published on 8/8/2019 at 7:04 AM

Courtesy of Popeyes
Courtesy of Popeyes

We feel like Michael Scott in that scene from The Office where the fire alarm goes off and he's running around screaming, "Oh my God! OK, it's happening!"

Because finally -- sound the alarms, folks -- Popeyes is debuting its first-ever fried chicken sandwich. That's right, Popeyes has never offered a fried chicken sandwich on its national menu, according a spokesperson. It's one of the chain's biggest menu additions to date and features a buttermilk battered chicken filet smothered in either a spicy Cajun sauce or traditional mayonnaise, topped with two pickle chips, and sandwiched between a buttery brioche bun. 

The sandwich is set to hit Popeyes locations nationwide August 12, but Californians have the opportunity to eat it earlier at Long Beach's Sweet Dixie Kitchen, the restaurant that passed off Popeyes' chicken as its own and caused a foodie firestorm in 2017. 

"To be honest, I thought they were calling to sue me,” Kim Sánchez, owner of Sweet Dixie Kitchen, said in a Popeyes press release (instead, Popeyes was reaching out to form a partnership). “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.”

It's often said that imitation -- or straight up reselling reheated Popeyes chicken -- is the best form of flattery. 

“We feel honored that the team at Sweet Dixie Kitchen likes our chicken so much," Bruno Cardinali, head of marketing for North America for Popeyes, said in a statement. "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."

The pre-launch dates at Sweet Dixie Kitchen are August 8-9, so if you can't wait to get Popeyes first-ever chicken sandwich at your local outpost, then head over to Long Beach for some proudly promoted Popeyes.

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Kat Thompson is a staff writer at Thrillist. Follow her on Twitter @katthompsonn.