A Popeyes customer couldn’t help but laugh after visiting one of the brand’s restaurants and being told the only offerings customers could buy were bread, wings and sides.
Kayree Ali (@kayree_ali) recorded his interaction with a Popeyes worker who alerted him to the lack of food on site, leaving the TikToker to wonder why the store was even open. In the end, he didn’t order anything and left the drive-thru in the viral clip, which had garnered over 256,000 views as of Friday.
@kayree_ali #popeyes #for you ♬ Original Sound – Kayree Ali
Overlay text in the video indicates that the Popeyes restaurant in question is located in East Chase Montgomery, Alabama. Ali is recorded getting up into a loudspeaker with driving orders and patiently waiting for an employee to greet him over the intercom.
“How are you, we only have bread, wings and sides, we don’t have any sweet and spicy, or ghost wings, we only take a card and no extras at the window,” they say.
TikToker requests the number one food which is Popeye’s Chicken Sandwich.
“Oh sorry we’re out of sandwiches too,” worker Ali says into the speaker as the TikToker just laughs and the worker joins in as well.
“D*mn ok thanks bro,” Ali tells the worker as he drives off, the employee still laughing.
“Bruh, just close shop,” Ali writes in another part of the video.
Commenters offered various speculations as to why the site was sold out with so many of its items. One person thought it was a case of Chick-fil-A doing a number on them, writing, “Lavelle Crawford was right when she said Chick fil A is killing Popeyes!” quoting this piece from one comic book specials.
Other people seem to have had similar issues with Popeyes, with a user stating, “EXACTLY HOW I FEEL on Northern Blvd too!!!”
“I went to Popeyes for work. they were from chicken. it’s all foot sandwiches,” added another.
Other customers say they simply had trouble giving Popeyes money.
“Popeyes gets mad when I try to order more than 2 things,” the user wrote.
TikTok isn’t the only place where people complain that Popeyes never has the items they want to order. This Reddit post uploaded to r/nostupidquestions A sub asked the same question.
One user attributed all the problems to supply chain issues and unmotivated workers who were not interested in working at a fast food restaurant for not much pay.
“Global supply chain issues + just-in-time ordering + underpaid employees + failure to prepare for the influx of drive-thru customers over the past year, and knowing damn well it was going to happen = no chicken or straws,” they wrote.
If that were the case, one would think that other fast food establishments face similar criticism, but otherwise Reddit post on r/doordash sub showed the perspective of a delivery driver who also slammed the Louisiana Style Kitchen chain. In his tirade, Dasher claimed the restaurant was one of, if not the worst place to pick up, citing excessively long wait times to pick up food and rude employees.
But for critics who voiced their opinions on Ali’s TikTok video and others on the web, the slowdown could be due to frustrated customers who don’t want to wait for their food or are tired of being told that the grub they really wanted is available right now . unavailable.
The Daily Dot reached out to Popeyes via email and Ali via a TikTok comment.
*First published: September 8, 2023, 2:56 PM CDT
Jack Alban
Jack Alban is a freelance journalist for the Daily Dot covering human interest trends/stories on social media and real people’s reactions to them. He always tries to incorporate evidence-based studies, current events and facts related to these stories to create your not-so-average viral post.
