Popeyes restaurant starts out strong in Auburn

Mardi Gras may be a couple of months away, but Auburn's latest eatery is banking on the popularity of the taste of New Orleans.Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits opened Dec. 4 at the former Arby's site on Auburn Ravine Road, within view and easy access of Interstate 80 at the Foresthill exit.Franchise owners Al and Phil Golchin, father and son, have a longtime affiliation with the purveyor of Cajun classics.Al Golchin has spent eight years with the chain, opening the Vacaville and Suisun stores and working as a training manager. But he has known for a long time that Auburn was a good place to start a business.As a bus driver for nearly 25 years, he regularly traveled the Interstate-80 route to Lake Tahoe and twice got stranded when snow caused the highway to shut down at the Applegate exit."I was stuck here for seven or eight hours," he said. "The people who live in Auburn are wonderful."His early positive impression of the area has been borne out during the past few weeks, as he works out all the kinks that come with starting up a restaurant."Since I opened the store, people have been very nice and very patient," he said.Popeyes' menu includes 35 items, Golchin said. Some of it is seasonal such as crawfish, a Louisiana staple available from December to February - customers can expect to see it on the menu in the next week or so. Another seasonal favorite, popcorn shrimp, is on the menu now.Most of the products are shipped direct from Louisiana, including the spices that make the fried chicken flavorful, the catfish tangy and the jambalaya authentic. Side dishes like dirty rice, red beans and rice, mashed potatoes and Cajun gravy and Cajun battered fries add to the bayou flavor. For dessert there's Mississippi mud cake and Georgia pecan pie.Response so far has been great, Phil Golchin said."We've been selling out of our chicken for the last week," he said. "Everything we've ordered, we've sold."Mary and Moss Egusa of Auburn tried out the food for the first time Wednesday. "We've been waiting for it to open," Mary Egusa said.She ordered the chicken sandwich."It's spicy and it's good," she said.Moss Egusa's choice was a popcorn shrimp sandwich."It's the first time I've had this anywhere," he said. "So I don't have anything to compare it with, but it is good."At a corner table, Sofia Arzamendi of Auburn was finishing an order of chicken. She has been a fan of the chain since she tried the food in Colorado in the 1980s."I came here last week, they day they opened," she said. "Usually I'm a vegetarian, but I really love the spicy chicken breast. So when I heard they were opening, I wanted to be here on opening day. I haven't had this chicken in a long time."Popeyes has been around since 1972, founded by New Orleans resident Al Copeland who initially called it Chicken on the Run. He changed it after viewing the movie "The French Connection," renaming it after Popeye Doyle, the lead character played by Gene Hackman. Today there are 1,818 Popeyes restaurants in the United States and 17 international sites, Phil Golchin said.Al Golchin said the investment in the venture totals $1.7 million, including $900,000 to purchase the site, $250,000 in equipment and $600,000 to renovate the building. So far they've hired 55 employees, many of them high school students who work shifts built around their hectic academic schedules."We have flexible (work) hours," Al Golchin said. "We cater to all that."The restaurant has walk-in counter service as well as a drive-through window.The Journal's Gloria Young can be reached at gloriay@goldcountrymedia. com.Located at 1985 Auburn Ravine Road (Bowman exit of I-80). Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday through Sunday.