When KFC opened its first British restaurant in 1965, squeezed into a small shop on Fishergate High Street in Preston, Lancashire, the concept of casual dining was still novel to this country.
The closest thing to fast food was Wimpy, which was still serving meals on porcelain plates with waitress service, and it would be nine years before the golden arches of McDonald’s were planted on these shores.
The UK’s appetite for such fare has exploded since then and keeps growing today. Over the next four years US companies including Chick-fil-A, Chuck E Cheese and Wendy’s are planning to open more than 1,100 new sites here.
Ten American firms with little or no presence in the UK have revealed plans for hundreds of outlets, on top of the 700 new diners announced by established brands such as McDonald’s and KFC. It includes a “major expansion” of Denny’s, a breakfast chain based in South Carolina that today has one UK restaurant, in Swansea, which opened in 2017. The burger brands Wendy’s and Carl’s Jr plan to open 250 and Chuck E Cheese, the Texan-based pizza parlour with an animatronic mouse mascot, has announced plans to open six.
Chuck E Cheese has largely phased out its famous animatronics
BRIAN CASSELLA/CHICAGO TRIBUNE/TNS/SIPA USA
Denny’s has even launched a £12.99 British version of its “grand slam” breakfast, adding grilled tomatoes and mushrooms to the original two eggs, two strips of bacon and two sausage links. America’s pancakes have been swapped for toast.
One of the biggest chains expanding fast is the Miami-based fried chicken restaurant Popeyes, which has opened dozens of branches this year and operates from Plymouth to Aberdeen.
In 2008 Popeyes catered the wedding of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, where buckets of fried chicken were served along with beluga caviar and shrimp scampi. Rap artists including Lil Wayne, Drake and Kanye West have mentioned the brand in their songs.
Tom Crowley, chief executive of Popeyes in the UK, said the fact the chain was already so established in America has helped boost sales on this side of the Atlantic. “Customers are savvy, and in a digital age brand-hype can transcend geographic markets very quickly,” he said.
The first Popeyes in the UK opened in 2021 at the Westfield shopping centre in east London. On launch day, customers queued for up to three hours to buy wings, chicken sandwiches and nuggets, as well as the brand’s signature buttermilk biscuit, which has been compared to a savoury scone.
Opening day at Popeyes Westfield, 2021
MARY TURNER/NEW YORK TIMES
Caitlin Kirby, manager of the branch in Gateshead, began her career as assistant manager at the Westfield site. She said she “couldn’t believe it when we opened and there were queues of customers around the shopping centre”.
When Popeyes opened a branch in Edinburgh last March, it offered its £6.99 chicken sandwiches free for a year to the first three customers. More than 100 people ended up camping overnight for more than 12 hours to be the first in line when it opened.
US companies have long seen the UK as the obvious first step in their plans for global expansion, in part because of Britain’s familiarity with American film and television. In Demolition Man, Sylvester Stallone and Sandra Bullock dine on Taco Bell, which is opening ten sites in the UK this year and in the 1993 sci-fi film was “the only restaurant to survive the franchise wars”.
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Michael Clarke, the managing director for Europe at Wendy’s, said the UK was a “strategic growth market” for the company, adding: “The UK has proven to be a natural entry point and a launchpad for further expansion across Europe, including markets like Romania, Ireland and Italy.”
James Hacon, managing partner of Think Hospitality, a restaurant consultancy, said the number of British restaurants, bars and pubs had fallen by 21 per cent since 2012, meaning a glut of empty premises for new entrants.
“With investors favouring proven concepts over risky start-ups, the UK remains an attractive launchpad,” said Hacon.
Food from these American chains is typically high in salt and fat. Last year Wes Streeting, the health secretary, pledged to clamp down on junk food with a pre-watershed ban on TV advertising. Three pieces of Popeyes’ “signature Louisiana chicken” contain about 1,100 calories, more than 60 per cent of the recommended 1,800 daily calories for an 11-year-old girl.
In July, the Department of Health said it would implement a ban on fast-food restaurants opening near schools by giving local authorities greater control over the planning process.
Katharine Jenner, director of the Obesity Health Alliance, said it was no longer the case that eating out is an occasional treat. “When every part of a child’s day is dominated by cheap, unhealthy food, it inevitably impacts their health,” she said.
She added that the UK “is already saturated with fast-food outlets, and another 1,100 American-style chains will only make it harder for families to find healthier options”.