Fall River Popeyes Closes and May Not Reopen

The Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen at 993 Pleasant St. in Fall River has closed its doors and, as of right now, the closure seems to be permanent.

A series of unfortunate events seem to have stacked up on staff at the Pleasant Street franchise, but some believe the popular chicken chain will open its Fall River doors again.

Several weeks ago, the Pleasant Street Popeyes was shuttered for three days following a failed health inspection.

Get our free mobile app

We spoke with staff at Food & Milk, the Fall River agency responsible for local food establishment permits and inspections. They confirmed the previous closure but said they "were still trying to get to the bottom of what happened" with the current closure.

The department said there were several issues adding up for the owner of this Popeyes location.

We were told those issues pertain to a safety inspection application with the city building department, in addition to issues with the Popeyes chain itself, and that the outcome is unclear.

The chain may have given up. Checking the Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen website, Pleasant Street is no longer listed among their current locations and Google lists the location as "permanently closed."

So, what does the future hold for the Pleasant Street Popeyes?

That remains to be seen, though other franchise owners are hopeful. The general manager at the newest New England Popeyes on Bald Hill Road in Warwick told us Fall River's "sales were really good. They rivaled our numbers." He said customers who loved stopping for chicken at Popeyes on Pleasant Street should check back in two weeks to see if they had reopened.

But whether they start serving their Louisiana-style chicken again or not, there doesn't seem to be a fried chicken shortage on the SouthCoast. The New Bedford Popeyes on Coggshall Street is still in operation and a new Chick-fil-A will open its doors at SouthCoast Marketplace in Fall River this spring. Not to mention the KFC potentially coming to Dartmouth.

Tired of talking chicken? Maybe try a pizza night instead at one of these South Shore Bar Pizza locations

There's pizza, and then there's South Shore Bar Pizza. Birthed in Brockton (and to this writer, perfected in Randolph – Lynwood Café is the true G.O.A.T.), it must meet certain qualifications to be considered "SSBP," which include: it's a 10-inch pie; it has a thin, cracker-like crust with minimal "flop;" the cheese is a blend that features more cheddar than mozzarella; and bonus points if you take it home between two carboard-type plates wrapped in flat brown paper bag. They also usually come with "laced" or "burnt" edges (terminology depends on where you are ordering), which is when the sauce and cheese are extended all the way to the edge of the pan, creating a crispy, flavorful coating to the crust. We reached out to the hugely popular South Shore Bar Pizza Social Club Facebook group to ask the experts to share the best of the best (in no particular order).