Popeye's Hours Extended Despite Ignoring Previous Restrictions
Residents near North End Road fried chicken chain had objected
The Popeyes branch on North End Road. Picture: Vanston Place Management Company
January 30, 2025
Popeyes on North End Road has been granted an extension to its licence allowing it to stay open as late as midnight despite admitting it was already operating beyond its existing hours. Representatives for Popeyes apologised after acknowledging the premises on North End Road in Fulham had been trading outside its current licensable hours, which they said was due to the manager believing it could remain open later than allowed.
The fried chicken chain was requesting a licence to run the restaurant from 7am to midnight Sunday to Wednesday and until 1am Thursday to Saturday. Deliveries would be permitted to continue an hour after close.
This would have extended it beyond its current licence which allows it to open between 11am and 11pm seven days a week, and drew concern from local residents and the council’s Environmental Protection team. A total of 21 objections were received.
One, submitted by the Barclay Road Residents group, read, “This stretch of North End Road is a defined Metropolitan Police Crime Hot Spot. Only shorter operating hours will assist in decreasing crime by not attracting customers during food service operating hours and not attracting delivery drivers during the proposed ‘delivery only’/so-called ‘Outdoors only’ hours, in licensing parlance.”
The Co-Chair of the Walham Green Ward Panel was also among those to write in. “Residents including young children on the North End Road and side streets such as Shorrolds Road, Epirus Road and other nearby side streets will have their sleep disturbed by customers, delivery drivers collecting takeaway orders and delivery drivers delivering supplies to the premises,” they wrote.
Several residents spoke at Monday night’s (27 January ) Hammersmith and Fulham Council Licensing Sub-Committee meeting on the feared impacts of a later licence for Popeyes. John Skoulding, who was representing several residents, urged the local authority not to permit the later hours.
“These hours are really important,” he said. “They’re really important to our children, they’re really important to us, and they’re really important because fundamentally it’s when we sleep. And the right to sleep, the right to quiet enjoyment is long-enshrined…in our laws, and it is well established that whilst it is a very nice thing to have, a piece of chicken delivered down a road at a late-night hour, it’s a nice-to-have thing. It’s a luxury for some who can afford it, but of course it’s not essential. And sleep is essential.”
Claims that Popeyes had been operating outside of the hours stipulated in its existing licence were also raised. One resident, Andriy Marin, asked the sub-committee: “If they’re not following the rules right now, how can we expect them to follow any law? They just break rules and licensing even right now.”
Asked by Cllr Dominic Stanton directly about these claims, Mark Browning, the chain’s agent, acknowledged the restaurant’s manager had sold food beyond 11pm due to a misunderstanding about the closing time. Cllr Bora Kwon also put this to Gwion Iwan, Head of Operations at Popeyes. Mr Iwan said: “I think it should not have happened. From a reassurance perspective I think you have the highest operator in the business. I operate 70 restaurants, I’ve got 4,500 people that work under my remit and I will personally ensure that the message of today’s hearing…we’ll make sure we land that message in our restaurants.”
Mr Iwan offered during the meeting to reduce the requested hours further, having already done so prior to the meeting following correspondence with the council. He also suggested the new licence not be adopted until insulation has been installed and tested to minimise the noise from a condensing unit. The council’s Environmental Protection officer maintained his opposition to the application due to the expected increase in noise if the application was approved.
Following deliberation in private, councillors agreed to grant the licence enabling the premises to open to the public 10am to midnight Monday to Saturday and until 11pm on Sunday. Deliveries will be allowed until 1am Friday and Saturday. Several conditions, including that the licence is not to be implemented until noise insulation has been installed, were also imposed.
Ben Lynch - Local Democracy Reporter