The impacts of inflation and the COVID pandemic continue to reverberate to this day. One such aftershock has left Waycross residents two fewer options for fried chicken available, with the closure of both local Popeyes locations.
Both restaurants were part of a large string of closures, following the bankruptcy of Sailormen Inc., a Miami-based Popeyes franchisee. Sailormen has been one of the country’s largest Popeyes franchisees, with 136 restaurants across Georgia and Florida. In total, 17 locations across both states were closed, being deemed unprofitable.
This move was made to reduce Sailormen’s expenses, following the franchisee’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 15. In the filing documents, Sailormen cited “the national impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on restaurant operations, consumer choice, high inflation, increased borrowing rates, and an increasingly limited qualified labor force” as contributing factors in bankruptcy. Per the filing, Sailormen owed roughly $130 million to lenders.
In addition to both Waycross locations, Popeyes restaurants in Jesup, Hazelhurst, and Brunswick were among those closed.
The Waycross Journal-Herald reached out to Sailormen Inc. for information on the future of the stores, but they declined comment at present.
