Popeyes location in Toronto under fire for allegedly not paying employees and more

A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen restaurant in Toronto is under scrutiny, with employees of the franchise protesting outside the Scarborough location this week, alleging unpaid wages, unsanitary conditions, and other concerns.

Employees of the Popeyes at 2633 Lawrence Ave E, in Scarborough, are protesting against their employer, Irfan Memon, and demanding action from the corporate higher-ups at Popeyes.

A representative of the protesting employees reached out to blogTO with allegations of bounced cheques, using unsanctioned meat supplies, mislabeling chicken as Halal-certified, and a general sense of disorder at the Midland and Lawrence location.

A concerned employee told blogTO in an email statement that Memom has not paid wages in weeks, saying that "employees are behind five pay cheques. All his cheques got bounced, not once but twice and thrice." The employee shared images of the bounced cheques to back up this claim.

In addition to their unpaid wages, workers allege that Memom is "getting products from outside that are not safe to use," explaining that "as per guidelines he is supposed to use products from Sysco but he is buying from outside [at a] cheaper price." 

blogTO has not independently verified allegations of food sourcing, though Popeyes has indeed been in hot water over accusations of chicken stored in residential garages.

The group behind the protest even claims that Restaurant Brands International (RBI) – the corporate parent company of Popeyes and other major brands like Tim Hortons — raided one of Memon's Popeyes locations and warned him for these practices.

Adding to the laundry list of alarming issues flagged by employees, workers at this Popeyes location also shared a video showing unhygienic conditions in the restaurant's kitchen.

The kitchen floor of a Popeyes location in Toronto 🤮 pic.twitter.com/dBPoB6txMv

— blogTO (@blogTO) September 26, 2025

When confronted with evidence of the unpaid wages and kitchen hygiene concerns, a Popeyes spokesperson told blogTO in an email statement that "This is an unacceptable situation for the team members and we can confirm that we have taken immediate action to trigger a transfer of these restaurants to new franchisees."

"Part of that process is the requirement for the affected team members to get paid for everything they are owed," added the spokesperson.

If that wasn't enough of a hit on the franchisee, Toronto Public Health (TPH) has informed blogTO that it will conduct a follow-up inspection of the restaurant.

In an email statement to blogTO, TPH says that it "is committed to ensuring the health and safety of the public by conducting regular inspections of all food establishments in the city through the DineSafe program."

After reviewing video of the establishment, the spokesperson said that "TPH will conduct a follow-up inspection of the food establishment and take any necessary actions in accordance with the Ontario Food Premises Regulation (493/17)."