Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen in Augusta was closed Friday after it was issued an imminent health hazard citation by the Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Inspection Team from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

After conducting a routine inspection, the inspection team found the business did not have sufficient cold-holding equipment to operate safely and a lack of managerial control, according to Lindsay Hammes, DHHS press secretary.

The restaurant was permitted to reopen Saturday. The franchise opened in Augusta on May 22.

The Department of Health and Human Services received two online complaints and one complaint through the Maine CDC’s reporting line for foodborne illness related to the Augusta Popeyes location, Hammes said. The epidemiology team is currently investigating the complaints.

The establishment immediately closed and worked with the CDC’s Health Inspection Program to develop a risk-control plan to ensure that cold-holding temperature records are actively monitored and completed. The Inspection Program also worked with Popeyes to clarify appropriate corrective action if the cold-holding unit temperature rises above 41 degrees Fahrenheit again.

The “imminent health hazard” was lifted Saturday, allowing the restaurant to reopen. Going forward, Popeyes will be on an increased monitoring schedule.

“It’s always good to be safe firsthand, so it’s not like we are super focused on getting as much sales as we can, if it’s not safe,” Arsal Jaffery, CEO of franchisee Reliance Hospitality Group, said. “So therefore, we worked directly with the health department to make sure that we could close the store, get everything in line, and reopen … it was open within 24 hours, so it wasn’t that big of a hazard.”

Reliance Hospitality Group also opened the Lewiston Popeyes location in June 2025. According to Maine Health Inspection records, the Lewiston location failed its health inspection in September with five critical health violations and five non-critical violations.

Jaffery said the Lewiston location was not ordered to close at any point.

“Obviously, our No. 1 priority is to make sure that, you know, the food is safe, and everything that we’re doing for our customers, it’s 100%. And obviously these unannounced health inspections should help as well, so we use that as an opportunity to coach and train our team,” Jaffery said. “But obviously it was never a thing which was that big of a hazard that we had to shut down.”

Reliance Hospitality Group owns and operates several Popeyes and Taco John’s locations in New England.