(Yicai Global) July 31 -- TH International, which runs coffee chain Tim Hortons and fried chicken restaurant chain Popeyes in China, plans to reopen Popeyes’ flagship eatery in Shanghai.

The outlet on Huaihai Middle Road will reopen soon, with preparations ongoing, sources told Yicai Global during an on-site visit on July 28. A window poster read: “We’re reopening because of our obsession for tasty food.”

Shanghai-based TH International, also known as Tims China, bought Popeyes China in February. The following month all nine Popeyes stores in the mainland closed.

TH International told Yicai Global at the time that the closures were planned by the fast food chain’s previous agent, TAB Food Investments, and that it would take time to adjust Popeyes’ brand positioning, menus, and store design in readiness for reopening in the second half of this year.

Founded in 1972, Popeyes entered the Chinese market in 1999 and pulled out in 2003. RBI bought it in 2017 and Turkish catering group TFI relaunched the chain in China in 2019. The flagship on Shanghai’s Huaihai Middle Road opened in 2020.

New York-based Cartesian Capital Group is the largest shareholder of Tims China. It became the franchisee of Popeyes in China last August.

Editor: Futura Costaglione