Spectacular SendOff for Popeyes Founder
April 2nd, 2008, 11:02 pm Hobby Shops
Surrounded by a sampling of his collection of vehicles, Copeland was later interred in a mausoleum during an intimate ceremony at Metairie Cemetery, the resting place of Louisiana governors, New Orleans mayors, Confederate Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard and Dixieland jazz musician Louis Prima.”He spent the end of his life not trying to make a buck, but finding his faith,” said his son, Al Copeland Jr., who is the CEO of Al Copeland Investments, a private company that owns a line of restaurants, hotels, comedy clubs and a spice manufacturer.Copeland’s casket was borne to the mausoleum on a horse-drawn carriage and accompanied by a brass band playing the tune “My Way.” In honor of his favorite number, 11, 111 balloons and 11 doves were released.”Al’s going out big. He’s got all his toys here,” said Eric Paulson, a morning television news anchor and the master of ceremonies.Mourners expressed admiration for Copeland’s rags-to-riches story. He grew up poor in New Orleans, sold his car at age 18 to open a doughnut shop and eventually found major success with his spicy, Cajun-style fried chicken, growing a single store started in 1971 to a major chain.Copeland also went through rocky times, financially and personally. He lost most of his Popeyes empire in a 1991 corporate bankruptcy following Popeyes’ ill-fated 1989 buyout of Church’s Chicken, but he retained the rights to some Popeyes products and expanded his chain of casual-dining restaurants including Copeland’s, Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro and Fire and Ice.But it was Copeland’s love of spectacle, on display even in death, for which many said they’d remember him.Copeland’s hobbies included racing 50-foot powerboats, touring New Orleans in Rolls-Royces and Lamborghinis, and outfitting his Lake Pontchartrain home with lavish Christmas decorations, including a three-story “snowman” made of lights. The display drew huge crowds — and a lawsuit in 1983 from neighbors who said the resulting traffic held them hostage in their own homes.While leaving the New Orleans Museum of Art on Valentine’s Day 1991 with his new bride, third wife Luan Hunter, rose petals were tossed from a helicopter and fireworks exploded over the building.Survivors include five sons, four daughters, a brother and 13 grandchildren.
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