ATLANTA, April 25, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Popeyes(r) Chicken & Biscuits, a division of AFC Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:AFCEE), recently issued its 2002 franchise and supplier awards at its worldwide conference held in Orlando, Florida. During the meeting, the company recognized franchisees with seven Silver Plate Awards, two Gold Plate Awards, and Domestic and International Franchisee of the Year Awards for outstanding performance in 2002. Also honored at the meeting were a Supplier of the Year and a Distinguished Distributor of the Year.
Popeyes presents Silver Plate Awards to restaurants that operationally excel, positively represent the brand's image and effectively use Popeyes training tools. Additionally, restaurants are evaluated on current and past sales performance, overall execution of the Popeyes concept, and leadership as demonstrated by the restaurant manager and his or her team. The 2002 Silver Plate Award winners are:
-- Southpoint Consolidated, San Antonio, TX restaurants 5868 and 5593
-- Army & Air Force Exchange Service, Hawaii, Japan and Korea restaurants 3056, 3180 and 3137
-- Pontchartrain Foods, Inc., Covington, LA restaurant 2340
-- Janjer Enterprises, Springfield, VA restaurant 5687
Silver Plate Award recipients are eligible to receive the most coveted Popeyes award -- the Gold Plate. The 2002 Popeyes Gold Plate winners are:
-- Southpoint Consolidated, San Antonio, TX restaurant 5868
-- Army & Air Force Exchange Service, Japan restaurant 3180
"It is always a difficult task to select the gold plate winners, but this year it was especially challenging with the enormously high quality of Silver Plate honorees to select from," said Dick Holbrook, interim president of Popeyes and president of AFC Enterprises, Inc. "Not only did these restaurants support the brand in every way, but they went the extra mile to excel and are `the best of the best'!"
Also at the conference, Popeyes named Mike Shelton of Shelton Development Company, LLC as Domestic Franchise Partner of the Year. Shelton joined the Popeyes system in 1995 with one restaurant in Louisiana and now owns 12 with plans to build more in Nashville, Tenn. He is the president of the Popeyes International Franchisee Association.
Popeyes also named Ricardo Garza of Grupo Proalimex S.A. DE C.V. as International Franchise Partner of the Year. Garza signed a 20-unit agreement with Popeyes in mid-2002. After experiencing success with his first four Monterrey, Mexico restaurants he signed a new 100-restaurant commitment awarding him development rights for all of Mexico.
"Both Mike and Ricardo have shown the true Popeyes team spirit, and that's evident in everything that they do inside and outside of their businesses," said Holbrook.
At the conference, Popeyes named Gold Kist as the Supplier of the Year -- the first time a supplier has won this award two years in a row. Also, Popeyes recognized Bud's Poultry as the Distinguished Distributor of the Year.
"We are proud to work with great suppliers and distributors like Gold Kist and Bud's Poultry," said Joe Scafido, chief menu and marketing officer of Popeyes. "Honoring them is our way of saying thank you for their dedication to the brand and our customers."
Also at the conference, Popeyes recognized restaurant development and reimaging with these awards:
-- International Alternative Developer of the Year -- Haimarrow Company, Inc. (Korea)
-- International Developer of the Year -- Presidio Food Corporation (Philippines)
-- Domestic Developer of the Year -- Clifford Fort Meyers, LLC (Port Richie, FL)
-- Re-imaged Restaurant of the Year -- The Wang's Partnership (Houston, TX)
Lastly, Popeyes awarded the National Account Supplier of the Year award to Tell Us About Us, Inc. This new Popeyes vendor specializes in customer service response measurement and began working with the Popeyes team in 2001. Since then, Tell Us About Us has been instrumental in helping Popeyes improve responsiveness to customer concerns.
Popeyes is a leader in the Cajun segment of the foodservice industry and is the world's second-largest quick-service chicken concept. Founded in 1972 in New Orleans, Popeyes has more than 1,672 locations in 42 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and 21 other countries and achieved 2001 worldwide sales of approximately $1.3 billion. Visit Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits' website at www.popeyes.com.
AFC Enterprises, Inc. is the franchisor and operator of 4,072 restaurants, bakeries and cafes in the United States, Puerto Rico and 33 foreign countries under the brand names Popeyes(r) Chicken & Biscuits, Church's Chicken(tm), Cinnabon(r), Seattle's Best Coffee(r) and Torrefazione Italia(r) Coffee. AFC's primary objective is to be the world's Franchisor of Choice(r) by offering investment opportunities in highly recognizable brands and exceptional franchisee support systems and services. AFC Enterprises(r) had system-wide sales of approximately $2.6 billion in 2001 and can be found on the World Wide Web at www.afce.com.
Editor's Note
Silver & Gold Plate restaurant number, address and manager names
listed below:
Gold & Silver
5868 1744 Horal Dr., San Antonio, TX 78227, manager Grace
Cortez
3180 Unit #35163, Bldg 980, Fairchild Avenue, Okinawa,
Japan, manager Adel El Habashy
Silver
5593 830 SE Military Dr., San Antonio, TX 78214, manager
Anna Tenerias
3056 Bldg #667, Schofield Barracks, Cadet Sheridan Rd.,
Oahu, HI 96857, manager Philip Victorian
2340 2801 N. Highway 190, Covington, LA 70434, manager
Daniel Jacob
5687 8326 Old Keene Rd., Springfield, VA 22152, manager
Ellen Pearson
The Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits logo is available at: http://media.primezone.com/prs/single/?pkgid=341