Popeyes has applied to open 35 North Street from 7am to 1am daily, with hot food deliveries until 5am. Comments to Guildford's licensing team close 6 October.

Popeyes has applied for a licence to keep its Guildford restaurant supplying hot food until 5am, seven nights a week. The application for 35 North Street appears on Guildford Borough Council’s premises licence register, and anyone can comment on it until 6 October.

It is the first formal record on the council’s books of the Louisiana-style fried chicken chain’s move into Guildford. The town’s outlet is also now listed on the Food Standards Agency register as a restaurant at 35 to 37 North Street, awaiting its first hygiene inspection.

What Popeyes has asked for

The application was made by PLK Chicken UK Limited, the company behind the chain’s UK restaurants. According to the application summary published by the council, it asks for:

  • opening hours of 7am to 1am, every day
  • late night refreshment, the licence needed to sell hot food and drink after 11pm, from 11pm to 5am every day
  • the doors to close to walk-in customers at 1am, with delivery orders only after that

There is no alcohol involved. The application states plainly that “Popeyes DOES NOT SERVE ALCOHOL”, and says the chain now has approximately 125 restaurants open across the UK.

What Popeyes has applied for at 35 North Street, Guildford: open to walk-in customers 7am to 1am every day; delivery only from 1am to 5am; late night refreshment licence covering 11pm to 5am; no alcohol. Comments close 6 October 2026. Source: Guildford Borough Council premises licence register

The company has offered a set of conditions with the application. They include CCTV with recordings kept for 31 days, an incident book, deliveries only to home or business addresses rather than street corners or parks, and notices telling delivery riders not to loiter outside. The application says its “Order Ready” system stops riders waiting near the premises, because orders are only released when the bag is sealed and ready to hand over.

Late-night fast food is becoming a Guildford theme

The application lands as the town centre McDonald’s on Friary Street asks for 24-hour deliveries, six weeks after the council refused it a full 24-hour opening. The two applications run under different systems. McDonald’s needs planning permission to vary a condition on its premises; Popeyes’ request is a licensing application under the Licensing Act 2003, decided against the licensing objectives of preventing crime, disorder and public nuisance and protecting children and public safety.

Three more applications on the register

The licensing register also lists three other new applications:

  • The Sushi Co, 221 High Street: a 40-seat sushi restaurant applying to serve alcohol with meals only, 11am to 10.30pm daily, open until 11pm. Comments close 1 October.
  • Bavaria Events at Merrist Wood College, Worplesdon: a licence for an event field covering one weekend a year between September and November. Comments close 17 September.
  • Orindis Deli, 1 Cobham Way, East Horsley: a new premises licence. Comments close 2 October.

What it means for you

If the Popeyes licence is granted as asked, delivery riders would collect from North Street through the night until 5am, and you could eat in or take away until 1am, seven days a week.

Anyone can make a representation on any of these applications before its closing date, but it must relate to one of the four licensing objectives. The applications, and how to comment, are on the council’s licensing pages. We covered the previous round of applications, and how the process works, in our August licensing round-up.