2ND POPEYES OPENS IN WAL-MART HYPERMARKET

ATLANTA -- Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken & Biscuits, based here, has opened a restaurant in a 24-hour Wal-Mart Hypermart in Topeka, Kansas, marking the chicken franchise's second venture into a Wal-Mart store.

lack from the first week in the Wal-Mart locations."

The Hypermarts in Topeka and Kansas City also have a McDonald's, a Subway, a yogurt stand and a corn dog operation that share a seating area that accommodates 200.

Eddy, who leases space in the Wal-Mart Hypermarts, said that over the last few years he had been watching the customer traffic at the Kansas City Hypermart, and "I knew we would do well there. I figured we could bring new business into their food court and I believe we have."

Other industry sources estimate that the 280,000-square-foot Wal-Mart Hypermarts see as much as 90,000 a week in customer traffic.

Officials at Popeyes, a division of America's Favorite Chicken Co., also based here, said, in a prepared statement that they are exploring other nontraditional locations, such as supermarkets. Officials at Wal-Mart, Bentonville, Ark., did not return calls seeking comment.

Wal-Mart operates four hypermarkets, 68 Wal-Mart Supercenters which, like its hypermarkets, carry food as well as general merchandise, and 1,953 general-merchandise Wal-Mart Stores.