Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen — Restaurant in West Marion

Stopped at this Popeyes on the way back home from a camping trip in TN. We were starving and really wanted Popeyes so we were stoked when we saw this along the route and could quickly use the restroom and order some food.

When we arrived there was 1 table already with their food and another gentleman waiting for his order. No line, no drive thru line outside.

We waited at the counter for service and after a while a young guy came to take our order. We ordered 1 classic combo, 1 classic with bacon and cheese combo, 1 strawberry pie, 1 apple pie.

We are very patient people, but after about 15 mins of waiting started to get annoyed. The guy who was there when we got there waiting for food, still hadn't gotten his so we were definitely concerned. You can see into the kitchen and it looked like everyone was standing around with the exception of the Manager who seemed to be doing everything.

At about 25 mins, we watched them fumble the other guys order and he left and they finally brought out ours. We go up to the counter to grab our meal and he goes "here's most of it, but we still need to make your pies". Annoyed, I ask how long that would take and he says 5 mins. 10 minutes later, the manager comes out and asks if we're waiting on anything, we tell her the pies. We can here her asking the team if they've done the pies, they say one is done, not the other. Another 5-7 mins later she brings them out.

Again, we are very patient people, and know that things happen, mistakes happen, whatever. However, there is no reason for "fast" food to take that long, especially when we've tried to quickly stop on a 8hr long trip back home.

Not once did anyone apologize for the wait. The Manager who was on duty and interfaced with us didn't seem to care one bit about the dismal level of service.

After all of that we get in the car to finally get on the road, crack into the food and it was cold, the fries were greasy, the pies weren't labeled to know which was which (minor issue), and there were no napkins. I guess at least the orders were correct if there was any positive spin...

Ordered a 2 piece spicy dark combo with beans and rice (a #4), a pepper, and a chicken sandwich combo. After paying and waiting, they said they couldn’t give me beans and rice because they didn’t have beans. I ordered the mashed potatoes.

We get our order and it’s completely wrong. I had what looked like tiny nuggets, potatoes with no gravy and the lid barely fit. Chicken sandwich was cold, & no pepper. We brought it up to the front and they dumped the food and a lady started remaking the order. She only had one spicy leg and one classic. I said I would wait for fresh chicken so I could get spicy. We were in this restaurant about an hour waiting on our food only to get my husbands coleslaw that was terrible and they had so much mayo on his sandwich, when he put his hand in the bag to get the he sandwich his hand had Mayo all over it. He had to use a napkin to wipe off some of the Mayo from his sandwich and returned the slaw. When he asked to replace the slaw the lady just grabbed a basket and put room temperature fries in it. Customer service is lacking and attention to detail. Oh, and when they brought my order, beans and rice miraculously appeared along with mash potatoes 🤦🏾‍♀️.

Bathroom...

I came in during their grand opening, and as expected…. The place was packed!!!!

My girlfriend, my 4 year old son and myself all ordered food. You could definitely tell it was day one. As with all restaurants, including my own, the kinks were getting worked out in the fire on the first day. We expected such, and we came in prepared for a sub par experience. We expected an extended wait time, but honestly it wasn’t too bad for a first day. The food was good. The staff, although clearly panicking… we’re friendly. And the dining area was surprisingly clean, considering all the foot traffic.

However, one thing set the whole experience above any and all other “Day 1” experiences that I’ve been a part of. A gentleman named Ben Brooks. He clearly was in Management, but he was working like an owner. He was not only directing the flow of the kitchen, but he was also able to interact with the guest when needed, and pep talked his crew when they were in the weeds. We had a hiccup with our order and he abruptly fixed the issue, made the experience perfect, and assured our return.

I don’t know how much you’re paying him….. But...