The company behind the Popeyes restaurant brand has asked a Florida judge to shut down a second Des Moines restaurant for allegedly violating its license agreement with the chain.
At the same time, it and the operators of the restaurant say they are seeking a settlement in the case.
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is suing Asif Poonja of Chicago, owner of at least seven Iowa Popeyes stores, accusing him and his company Jam Equities of continuing to operate the stores despite the company withdrawing their licenses due to unspecified violations of Popeyes’ “food safety and brand standards.”
In the initial lawsuit, filed in October, Popeyes identified five Poonja-owned Iowa restaurants allegedly violating the company’s trademarks, including a Des Moines store at 4140 Merle Hay Road. In an amended complaint, filed Nov. 4 and first reported by KCCI, the company is adding two new locations, including the one at 6230 SE 14th St. in Des Moines. The other is in Cedar Rapids.
According to the new complaint, Popeyes repeatedly alerted Jam Equities and Poonja to issues at the E 14th Street store in August 2025. After the store failed another inspection in October, Popeyes formally terminated its license on Nov. 4. Despite this, it, like the others, remains open for business, the lawsuit says.
It seeks an injunction blocking Poonja’s stores from using Popeyes’ trademarks and branding and ordering them to return branded materials and confidential information to the parent company, as well as pay unspecified monetary damages. The court has not yet set a hearing to consider the requested injunction.
Despite the loss of franchise status, the restaurants in question remain listed on Popeyes’ website.
In separate litigation, the Iowa Department of Revenue in October obtained orders to garnish unpaid sales taxes from at least four Jam Equities Iowa Popeyes locations, including one in Altoona.
Attorneys for Jam Equities and Poonja did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Court filings indicate possible settlement
On Monday, Nov. 17, Popeyes and Jam Equity filed a joint motion to postpone deadlines in their lawsuit.
The filing states that “the parties have been discussing a resolution and are cautiously optimistic that the parties will reach an agreement that would resolve the case in its entirety.” They ask the court for a seven-day extension to hammer out their agreement.
The filing does not include any details of the proposed settlement, or whether the Iowa stores in question will be allowed to continue operating under the Popeyes brand.
William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Second Des Moines Popeyes operating without approval, company alleges in lawsuit
Reporting by William Morris, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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