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Astonishment



If you have already registered your astonishment at the placement of a Popeye’s in the Giant Food parking lot on Centre Park Drive, let me just say I am late to the game. I haven’t been over there lately. I didn’t know what you were talking about.

My family persuaded me to “try the new Popeye’s” for dinner last night. “What Popeye’s?” thought I.

Friends, imagine you wanted a Popeye’s chicken so badly that you built one in your front yard.  That was how it struck me as we turned the corner onto Centre Park Drive.


As you sit inside the new restaurant you have lovely views of the Royal Farm Store, the Giant, and the drive through line. Incidentally, the way this is all set up means that if there is a long line of cars for the drive through, they will cut off access to the tiny parking lot dedicated for the Popeyes. Even better, once you get into that tiny parking lot you discover there is no way out at the other end. So, if there is no space for you, there is no way out and no room to turn around. You will need to back out. Into the line of cars at the drive through.

Did anyone think this through?

The best view is of the food. It was tasty. It was my first Popeye’s experience and from the food and service standpoint, it was a success. The air conditioning was unnecessarily cold, but, other than that, it was a pleasant enough experience. I do wish their soda dispenser allowed the options of plain water and plain soda water. I hope that can be changed.

I try not to complain about every new thing that gets built in Columbia. Actually, I don’t usually feel any desire to. But this particular placement perplexes me. I feel that someone with a decent Duplo set and some toy cars could have worked out the potential difficulties in advance.

I hope it succeeds, largely because I’m not a mean spirited person. I hope the fender benders I am foreseeing do not come to pass. I hope that Giant Food shoppers don’t get frustrated in the newly configured parking lot and start shopping elsewhere. That’s a lot of hoping.

One last thing. As a newbie I had the Mild-flavored chicken. Should I go for the Spicy next time?




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