After nearly 10 months of being closed, several Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen sites in Southeast Texas could open soon.
According to the city of Lumberton, LB Beaumont LLC purchased a permit to reopen the Popeyes store located at 108 South LHS Dr. LB Beaumont LLC is a branch of the CSM Group of Houston.
On social media, photos of banners announcing the restaurant reopening were taken in Bridge City and Lumberton. Also, it was reported that multiple individuals were seen outside the Port Arthur location at 4049 Gulfway Dr. on July 1.
There are also reports that the Popeyes on Gulfway Drive in Port Arthur, the Link Avenue store in Orange, and the Jasper store on Wheeler Street are not reopening at this time.
CSM Group is a Houston-based company with two main branches: a restaurant franchise group and a construction services company (CSM Industrial). The restaurant group, led by brothers Ali and Emad Lakhany, operates Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Tim Hortons franchises in Texas, Kansas and Missouri.
Ali and Emad Lakhany are the CEO and chief development officer, respectively, of CSM Group’s restaurant division. They are second-generation restaurateurs who took over their family’s business.
They operate 63 Popeyes restaurants.
In February, CSM Group announced construction of two stores in Spring and Pattison, with completion expected in May 2026.
Calls for comments from the CSM Group were not returned.
Last year, fences surrounding several Popeyes locations in Southeast Texas were placed after the closure of stores due to unpaid employees. Employees reported being late-paid or receiving short checks, leading to issues with operations and store closures.
Last summer, 13 locations in Southeast Texas — including Beaumont, Port Arthur, Nederland, Groves, Bridge City, Lumberton, Vidor, and Jasper — closed. Some of the Beaumont locations posted “Closed for maintenance” signs on their doors.
Workers at all 13 Popeyes locations in Southeast Texas reported payroll had been an issue since Kareem Nassar, CEO of American QSR of Houston, purchased the restaurants.
On LinkedIn.com, Nassar has been listed as the chief executive officer for American QSR Inc. since September 2023. From 1995 to 2023, he was chief operations officer for Palo Alto, Inc., which is comprised of Taco Bell (225), KFC (19), Pizza Hut (34), and Long John Silver (5) restaurants.
The Forbes Business Council reported American QSR was founded by veterans of the Franchised Quick Service Restaurant space, comprising more than 60 years of experience in single- and multi-brand organizations throughout the United States.
In April 2024, Nassar announced George Shorter as director of Operations and Rae Bonner as director of Training.
In an Instagram post, Nassar posted: “Leadership isn’t just about making decisions; it’s about empowering our team to thrive. I’m proud to lead with a focus on people and quality service.”
Attempts to reach American QSR representatives for comments by email were unsuccessful.
In Southwest Louisiana, Popeyes stores remain open in Lake Charles, Westlake, Sulphur, DeRidder, Leesville, Dequincy, and Moss Bluff. Also, Popeyes is open in the Baytown area.
— Dannie Oliveaux | DannieOliveaux@TheExaminer.com
