(Yicai Global) Aug. 11 -- A number of Popeyes restaurants in China are temporarily closed as the New Orleans-based fast-food chain changes the operator.

New York-based private equity firm Cartesian Capital Group will take up the reins and run Popeyes outlets in China in the coming years, parent company Restaurant Brands International said in a statement posted on its website yesterday. Turkey’s TFI TAB Food Investments, which also runs Burger King restaurants in China, was the previous operator.

Popeyes, known for its chicken sandwiches, opened its first China outlet in Shanghai in May 2020, since when the number in the mainland has risen to nine. Four of its six restaurants in Shanghai, two in Hangzhou, and one in Nanjing appear to be closed recently, according to information on takeout platform Meituan Dianping.

Popeyes will not retreat from the Chinese market even though it has shut several eateries for now, the more than 50-year-old brand said via WeChat yesterday, adding that they will reopen soon.

China’s fast-food market is highly competitive, with first and second-tier cities having become saturated, food industry analyst Zhu Danpeng told Yicai Global. It is hard for new entrants to take market share from industry giants such as McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, he said, adding that it is easier to find a niche in third and fourth-tier cities.

Cartesian Capital is also a major investor in RBI’s coffee chain Tim Hortons in China.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine