The chicken sandwich wars have infiltrated the "help wanted" section.
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen said it ran classified ads on Sunday in The New York Times, New York Post, Boston Globe and Miami Herald seeking applicants who can work Sundays and who have experience preparing chicken sandwiches. The chain's competitor, Chick-fil-A, is famously closed on Sundays. The contact on the classified ads is "SundayOpenings@Popeyes.com."
Popeyes, owned by Restaurant Brands International, introduced a chicken sandwich to its national menu in August, prompting comparisons to sandwiches from Chick-fil-A, the biggest chicken chain in the U.S. by sales. Before long, the "chicken sandwich wars" were in full swing, with brands trading barbs on Twitter and an explosion of taste tests.
The noise proved successful for Popeyes, which sold as many as 1,000 sandwiches per day, doubled store traffic and sold out of inventory in less than a month, causing it to temporarily cut the item from its menu. When Popeyes did return the chicken sandwich to the menu, it did so on Nov. 3, a Sunday.
Thanks to the launch of the sandwich, Popeyes had its best quarter in nearly two decades, reporting U.S. comparable sales growth of more than 10%. Its parent company reported its third-quarter results in October.
Chick-fil-A didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon.
