Posted by 77flint (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 2:08 p.m. (Suggest removal)

They sold other things too! besides another business wants in.

Posted by create (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 2:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

That's too bad. They began with a bang, but as time went by, I saw less and less traffic there at suppertime. I don't know why. I liked their red beans and rice very much.

Posted by jewely33 (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 2:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It would be the perfect location for Spangles. Let's hope it works out for everyone.

Posted by emporian (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 2:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

They closed cause their food wasn't good. I ate there once and that was enough for me. Their chicken legs must have come from a chick. You couldn't taste the difference between spicy and regular. Many folks I know had the same experience. You need repeat customers to survive, and they weren't getting that.

I am excited about the possiblity of having a spangles. They have some really tasty food.

Posted by murmusic (Regina Murphy) on February 5, 2008 at 3:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Boy, am I going to miss that catfish and cajun rice...

Posted by eatasheep69 (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 3:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I liked the food there. I think it failed from very poor management. Once I went there when they had a shrimp and rings special advertised with posters and on the marquee. They were out of rings and shrimp sauce. This was during the noon hour before the lunch rush. Another time they were out of ketchup. Again this was early in the day. WTF??? Go to the store and get some condiments already! Another day they closed about 2 hours early. "We're closed because it's snowing," the attendant at the drive through window told me. They were probably out of chicken.
I'm disappointed they're leaving, but not surprised.
I like Spangles too, I hope they come to Emporia.

Posted by gazette_reader (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 3:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

We ate there a couple of times. The first time was right after they opened, and they messed up our order. We gave them a couple of months to get organized and tried again. The cash register wasn't working correctly and it took a long time to get our order in the system and paid for.

This sounds weird, but the restaurant itself had a really bad vibe to it - it's the same vibe I get from KFC and Arby's new restaurant. I can only describe it as the feeling you would get if you were eating in a hospital cafeteria with brightly painted walls. When I'm in the mood to go out to eat, I usually want to go somewhere cozy so that I can relax and enjoy my food, even if I am in a hurry. Popeye's just didn't do that for me.

Posted by morethenenough (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 4:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I myself did not care for the food much.......I also thought for what you got they were pricey.....Never seemed busy either.....I felt hungry when I left...
HOPING for SPANGLES.....

Posted by Flips (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 5:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)

We tried them several times & each time had a bad experience. We kept thinking we will give them another chance & each time it was another bad experience!
I agree bad management-- had a lot to do with it!
When they first opened one night we counted 13 people in the kitchen & all 13 had no clue what they were doing!!!!!!!!
4 people who were good workers could have done a better job than 13 if they had been trained properly!!!!
The first time I ordered catfish they gave me two very very small pieces &-the next time I got three pieces------the next time I got four pieces------each time it was a different number of pieces of fish & the catfish could have been cooked longer & the service was poor to put it mildly!
I really was surprised they lasted as long as they did!
I truly believe if they had good management & better service & better cooking times & more consistency they would still be open & have a good business!
We just kept giving them another chance & each time were more dissapointed than the last visit!
I'm sure we were not the only ones!
Management problems had a lot to do with the failed business!

Posted by newme314 (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 5:59 p.m. (Suggest removal)

This town can not handle another resturant. Spangles is okay, I have ate at the ones in Wichita several times, but because of the way things are going in Emporia, this town simply cannot handle any more, True the have the 2.99 deals, but the rest of their prices are outragous. I am glad to see Popeye's go out. I ate there once and got sick!!!!!!!!!!
Not only that, But with Tyson basically closing the doors a lot more businesses are doomed to follow.

Posted by zeus (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 6:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

not saying the Popeyes here was great however I think that the management made this one horrible. Otherwise it was a different place to eat in Emporia which was nice. I agree that this is just the first of many businesses to fold up in Emporia but I wouldn't get to excited about yet another burger joint which is for some reason all Emporians seem to like. I have eaten at Spangles a few times in my life and it is nothing to write home about, trust me Braums is ten times better.

Posted by hottopics (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 9:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)

We had just said not more than two days ago that we thought Popeyes would be going out soon. They needed more variety than cajun gravy and potatoes. Service was off and on. I like their chicken fried steak but they got rid of it????????
It wont be missed much here. I am surprised that KFC has stayed open since it is off the path and a bit pricey.

We also have re-discovered Braums. Their drive through seems much faster and the chicken strips beat a chicken nugget anyday. Kids can get a chicken strip meal and milk shake for the same or better price than McD's that doesnt seem so greasy.

Coburns is a nice home town based store as well. You may have to wait a few extra minutes but your food is fresh. The fast foods often have old fries and things that have been in a warmer. I say slow down and wait the extra 3 minutes for something better.

Montana Mikes at our last visit.....the hostess was rude, she had no smile and wouldnt even answer me. The appetizers was under cooked and the steak over cooked.

Posted by MelissaE (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 9:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)

You know, I've lived on the West Coast, East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. Popeyes thrived in the Gulf States. I never saw it in the other places but I was happy when I heard that Emporia got one (but I'm not a huge fan of fast food, anyway).

I guess you have to go to Cajun Country to appreciate cajun food.

Regardless, I hope Emporia can bring in new business(es).

M

Posted by anonomom (anonymous) on February 5, 2008 at 11:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)

If you haven't tried braums in awhile, their service has gotten much better! Years ago we quit going becuase even though it was the best burger in town, they were always messing something up. They have the nicest guy working the drive thru most noons, and they are pretty speedy.

We won't miss popeye's. I think we got drive thru a few times, it was never anything special.

Montana Mikes, OMG. We had such a disappointment there a couple weeks ago. Went for a special birthday night out. They must have just had a huge turnover, because every single person we came in contact with was either brand new or training someone. I know everyone has to learn sometime, but it was irritating, the service was slooooooooooooow and the food was worse than usual.

Posted by create (anonymous) on February 6, 2008 at 11:58 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Yuck to Montana Mikes. I've been there three times and each was a disappointment. Wait staff was rude all three times. Maybe since they are located on I-35 they think they won't have to please returning customers. I give places like that three chances, then they're out of my realm of places to go.

Posted by Kevin_Tina_4Ever (anonymous) on February 26, 2008 at 10:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Rarely do I exercise my Right to Redress as a consumer, but I feel that my experiences with Popeye’s have warranted such an occasion.

Allow me to elaborate (PART ONE):

On an excruciatingly cold, wintry day, my friend Duncan and I decided to check out the new Popeye’s in Emporia. I want to also mention that we were as hungry for chicken as we were cold. Amidst all of the snow on the roads, we had no idea that we were in for an even wilder ride in the drive-thru. To give you an idea of the agony we experienced, here is a rendition of the dialogue that occurred with the order-taker, to the best of my recollection.

“Welcome to Popeye’s, can I take your order?”
“We are going to need to make two orders please.”
“Ok, what would you like two orders of?”
“No, what I mean is that I want to place an order for myself, and another order for my friend - two separate orders.”
“Hold on please………………………Ok, start with the first order.”
“I want two chicken sandwiches, one mild and one spicy.”
“Hold on… Well we are out of spicy chicken sandwiches, but if you want I can pour some spicy sauce into a bowl that you could put on the sandwich.”
“Ummm…. Just give me two mild chicken sandwiches.”
“Ok and your next order??”
“No…. wait… I’m not done yet.”
(this part took a while… I’ll spare you the details)

Second order: “My friend wants the catfish dinner with macaroni and cheese and iced tea, unsweetened.”
“Hold on……………………”
“Hello?”
“Yeah… sir….. We are out of the catfish dinners, but we do have shrimp!!”

Oh lucky me, I’m allergic to shrimp. Anyway, we got some chicken - whatever they were able to scrounge up… and went home. We figured that maybe since they had just opened and since we were having such terrible weather, that they just didn’t have their ducks in a row just yet. Let me briefly summarize the final 5 times he or I visited this restaurant.

Posted by Kevin_Tina_4Ever (anonymous) on February 26, 2008 at 10:36 p.m. (Suggest removal)

(PART 2)

Time #2) We decided to go inside this time in hopes of getting better service. It didn’t happen. They still didn’t have the food we wanted, didn’t know which buttons to push on the register, and there were what seemed to be 20 employees wandering around trying to look busy. This time I think I actually got some catfish.

Time #3) Out of sheer curiosity of what we might experience at Popeye’s again (rather than truly wanting Cajun food), we tried the drive-thru again. We got so upset at the experience that we drove off.

Time #4) The reason I went back was to try and get the catfish again. In fact I would have never gone there if I could have gotten it somewhere else. I can catch them with no problem, I just hate cutting up those miserable beasts. This time, two people tried taking my order at the same time…. This ultimately resulted in sounding something like a native person from Cajunland warbling to me over an antique speaker purchased from a flea market.

Final visit) I actually got to the window without any trouble. They did say that it would take 5-10 minutes to cook my catfish, which I understood. However, the workers took this wait time as the perfect opportunity to try and chat with me and even asked for my phone number! Talk about professional.

I ended up telling them a number, but after a 15 minute wait, what I really wanted to say was, “Give me an extra chicken sandwich and some biscuits…. For free!!”

In summary, the managers must have been some spring chickens at this business…with their heads cut off.