Gridlocked traffic and hours-long queues for new Popeyes Chicken restaurant in Auckland

Auckland’s Great South Rd was brought to a standstill as people queued for hours – some camping overnight – to taste New Zealand’s newest fast food restaurant, Popeyes.

One man waited for 19 hours to be the first in line.

The branch of the American fried chicken chain opened in the Auckland suburb of Takanini yesterday morning, with owners estimating thousands of people visited the restaurant and thousands of transactions were made.

General manager James McLauchlan said there was traffic down to State Highway 1 and lanes had to be blocked off on Great South Rd.

“We had queues right down the side of the restaurant for hundreds of metres,” he said.

“We had to shut the drive-through lane at 10.30pm and it took the staff until 12.30am to clear the lane. Some staff only left the store at 4am.”

He said people came from as far away as Hastings and Whangārei.

“The restaurant also broke the record for first-day sales for Popeyes chicken globally.”

One man, Jack, waited for 19 hours at the front of the line to be the first in New Zealand to try the restaurant’s Deluxe Chicken Sandwich.

Fried chicken fan Jack waited overnight to be first in line for the opening of New Zealand's first Popeyes restaurant.

One person wrote on Facebook: “Forgot this was opening today took me almost 2hrs just to get home after work which normally takes 15 minutes.”

Another said: “I’m at the front of the line been here for 3 hours 2 cars left stomachs growling can’t wait!”

One person said severe traffic prevented drivers from getting into Takanini.

“Hoping the police can look at closing the place early ... until then avoid Takanini or view your Google maps for traffic updates!”

The restaurant chain was founded in New Orleans in 1972. It now has more than 3700 restaurants in the United States and is in more than 30 countries.

It plans to open a second store in Taupō in July.

A brass band was present to celebrate the opening of the first Popeyes restaurant in Auckland.