Why One Louisiana Popeyes Location Has An Ironic Mascot
McDonald's has Ronald McDonald. Burger King has the King. KFC has Colonel Sanders. Wendy's has the ... Wendy's girl? It seems like all the major fast-food chains have mascots to their name, colorful faces with even more colorful backstories. But there's a few restaurants that don't have mascots to speak of — and Popeyes is one of them.
Founded by Al Copeland back in 1972 down in New Orleans, Popeyes has been serving chicken, biscuits, and other Cajun fare, all without a mascot to their name. Sure, they have a catchy New Orleans jazz-infused slogan — something they hired out-of-work musicians to re-cover (via Marketing Dive) — but you would think that, in all of its years of operation, there was never one mascot they even tested out? While beloved cartoon character Popeye the Sailor was associated with the brand, the spinach-chomping sailor man didn't fit with neither Louisiana nor fried chicken, per Marketplace. From there, the chain simply relied on catchy jingles, social media, and word of mouth for their marketing strategy.
But for one Louisiana Popeyes, there's one unofficial mascot who strolled up out of the blue and got the job. His name is Rocco and he's a beloved member of the team. Though, if he could speak, he'd probably have some choice words about what Popeyes serves.
Rocco the rooster is a 'blessing' to this Popeyes
Imagine pulling up to your local Popeyes drive-thru and the head of a very much alive and very stern-looking rooster pokes his head out at you through the window. You'd probably feel guilty about that tender meal you just ordered. For one Louisiana Popeyes, Rocco isn't a meal waiting to be served, but a beloved mascot and friend.
According to WWLTV, Rocco quite literally strolled up to the restaurant in Slidell following Hurricane Ida and simply never left. Although employees asked around town about who owned the chicken, no one seemed to have any idea where Rocco came from. Instead of shooing him away — or, you know, making lunch out of him — Popeyes employees took a shine to him. They even built him a coop beside the drive-thru, where he struts around, inspecting the passing cars and eating rice and pieces of biscuits. General Manager Muhassin Shepherd even considers him a "blessing," a "guardian angel" of sorts. He's also been compared to the Chick-Fil-A cows by some.
According to Chicken Pals, chickens tend to not wander too far from their coop and generally prefer to stick around the area of it. With free food and a warm home, it seems that Rocco may be there to stay.