Popeyes UK boss: The CEO is at the bottom of the ladder

Tom Crowley explains his philosophy for running successful high street food businesses

Popeyes Louisiana Chicken restaurants started in the US in the 1970s and expanded to the UK in 2021, which is also when Tom Crowley joined and became the UK CEO.

Prior to that, he led the Boparan restaurant group, where he was responsible for high street restaurants like Gourmet Burger Kitchen, Carluccio’s and Giraffe.

Popeyes grabbed public attention when it catered Beyonce’s wedding and also sent food to the Kardashians’ private jet.

There are now 85 Popeyes restaurants in the UK and the chain employs around 3,500 people. It's expanding fast, backed by external investment, and is due to hit 100 restaurants by the end of 2025. It just opened its first airport location in Birmingham this summer.

While Popeyes may run restaurants, Crowley sees it as a people business. Staff training and customer experience is one way for a food brand to stand out in the competitive high street market, he says.

The vast majority of Popeyes restaurants are run by Popeyes UK, as opposed to many other chains that follow a franchise model. This allows the business to retain more control of its company culture.

There is a national centre above its branch in Ealing, west London, where shift managers come to receive training and gain relevant qualifications.

“You can build the best restaurants, you can have the very best menu, but if you don't have the right people and the best people, you have nothing,” says Crowley. “We spend a lot of time trying to recruit [and then train] the right people.”

The other philosophy that Crowley tries to instil is that “the most important person across the whole of the business is our pot wash”, who works in the kitchen. “Without them, you don’t have a business.”

“The CEO,” says Crowley, “is actually at the bottom of the ladder.”