A Long Beach restaurant is facing backlash after a Yelp reviewer exposed it for reserving and selling upcharged Popeyes chicken as their own. According to reports, Sweet Dixie Kitchen is a small restaurant that specializes in comfort food with a Southern inspiration. But, when the Yelp user saw Popeyes boxes in the establishment, the owner was forced to clear the air.
“Before my friends and I got seated [at the restaurant] we saw them quickly bring in two large boxes of Popeyes to the kitchen,” the Yelp user, Tyler H, wrote in his review. Once he was seated, he ordered fried chicken and waffles, but to his surprise the chicken tasted “suspiciously like Popeyes.”
“I kindly asked our waiter how they cooked their fried chicken. After checking, he admitted that they do in fact use Popeyes,” Tyler wrote. “The manager compensated us for the entire meal.”
However, when the owner of the establishment saw the review, she clarified the restaurant’s position, saying they “PROUDLY SERVE” the fast food restaurant’s chicken.
“We PROUDLY SERVE Popeyes’ spicy tenders – the best fried chicken anywhere and from New Orleans – which are delivered twice a day. We also in case you need to know buy our gumbo from a friend who sells it at a local farmers market,” Kim Sanchez said in response to the review.
“We promote usually small batch local producers in our menu. The exception is Popeyes – we can’t fry at this location – and it the fried chicken I love so much and I ate a ton of it in ATL. So I serve it,” she said, adding that the restaurant doesn’t “mill our own flour” or “grow our own veggies.”
Although Sanchez says she has been upfront about outsourcing their fried chicken, customers were not happy about the premium. Apparently, the chicken and waffles dish sells for about $15, whereas a Popeyes meal can go for $10 or less. Regardless, Sanchez says she is not apologizing because she loves Popeyes chicken, as she believes it is the best out there. But, since the backlash, which has been tough for her to handle, she has reached out to Popeyes for official permission but has yet to hear back.
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