Jerome "Pop" Pentsky

Jerome "Pop" Pentsky (born August 26 1950 in New Orleans, Louisiana) is an American entrepreneur who co-founded Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, now known simply as Popeyes, with Al Copeland.

Pentsky is currently the Co-Founder of Popeyes Chicken and has a net worth estimated at 3.2 million dollars.

Early life and education

Jerome Pentsky is the son of Jamal Pentsky, a now retired janitor at a local high school, and Denisha Pentsky, the eighth and youngest child of a poor family living in the same area.

Pentsky attended a local grade school, and later went to De La Salle High School. He met childhood friend Al Copeland at a local pool, and the two became fast friends.

Business

In 1972, Pentsky and Copeland founded a fried chicken restaurant named Chicken on the Run in a small suburb in New Orleans. Pentsky began calling the restaurant "Popiz", a portmanteau of Pop and biz (short for business) and Copeland was inspired to rename the restaurant Popeyes, both in homage to his friend's nickname and fictional detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, a character from the movie The French Connection. However, business was slow, and Pentsky and Copeland realized they had to do something different from all the other chicken restaurants. This prompted the pair to begin selling spicier, Cajun flavored fried chicken. The New flavor was a hit, and the restaurant's popularity exploded among the local African American population. The success in the local Louisiana area eventually led to the franchising of the chain.