New Orleans has produced jazz musicians, literary giants, and Mardi Gras royalty. But only one person built a fried chicken empire, raced speedboats, married four times, and put up a Christmas light display so absurd that the Today show ranked it in the top three nationally. That person was Alvin Charles Copeland, and this city has never seen anyone quite like him.
From the St. Thomas Projects to the Fryer
Al Copeland was born on February 2, 1944, and grew up in the St. Thomas housing projects in New Orleans. His father left when Al was a baby. He dropped out of school at 16 and went to work at Schwegmann Brothers in Gentilly as a soda jerk. At 18, he sold his car to buy a single donut shop from his brother.
The Birth of Popeyes
In 1972, Copeland opened "Chicken on the Run" in Arabi. It served mild fried chicken. Nobody came. So Copeland spiced it up, renamed the place Popeyes after Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle from The French Connection, and the whole city started lining up. By 1989, Popeyes was the third largest chicken chain in America.
Living Big
After losing Popeyes in bankruptcy, Copeland launched Copeland's of New Orleans. He raced powerboats. His Metairie mansion's Christmas lights were ranked top three nationally by the Today show. He passed away March 23, 2008, at 64.
Dirty Coast Connection
Designs like New Orleans Is For Livers and PoBoy Patent celebrate the kind of New Orleans food innovation Copeland took global. Be A New Orleanian Wherever You Are.
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