Sunday, March 23, 2008

R.I.P. "Popeye"

NEW ORLEANS-Al Copeland, a hard-charging, high-living entrepreneur who built an empire on spicy fried chicken and fluffy white biscuits, died Sunday in Munich, Germany, of complications from cancer treatment. He was 64.

He had gone to Munich for treatment of his illness, which had been diagnosed in November, said Kit Wohl, his spokeswoman.

Born in poverty, Mr. Copeland burst onto the scene in 1972, when he opened his first Popeyes fried-chicken stand, in Arabi. It was the start of a franchise that, under his leadership, had 700 outlets, not only in the United States but also in Puerto Rico, Panama and Kuwait.

rest of story

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/al_copeland_dies_in_germany.html

Popeye's website

http://www.popeyes.com/