In September, Green Chile Kitchen fans mourned the closure of its flagship location in NoPa, which served stews, burritos and other New Mexican specialities to the neighborhood for 14 years.
The good news is that the restaurant’s former space at 1801 McAllister St. (and Baker) won’t sit vacant for long.
After years of pop-ups, Automat chef Matthew Kirk announced in an Instagram story that he's found a permanent home in the space.
Kirk, a former sous chef at the Mission's Lazy Bear, will be teaming up with Lazy Bear chef/owner David Barzelay on the project. Barzelay also co-owns Mission cocktail bar True Laurel, a collaboration with Lazy Bear's onetime bar director Nicolas Torres.
“It is going to be A LOT of hard work," Kirk wrote in an Instagram story announcing the partnership. "But I can’t wait to have a place in the community where everything started…where my kids can come visit and see all your faces."
Kirk did not respond to a request for comment. But a recent article in Vogue offers a brief blurb about the coming restaurant, noting that it will offer New American items such as a fried chicken sandwich with seaweed and green goddess dressing and dill-pickle-spiced bagels. It will likely debut in the late fall or early winter of 2020.
Over the past three and a half years, Kirk has hosted pop-up meals at Wesburger, New Taraval Cafe, and Daily Driver. He also offers a monthly "bread box" delivery that allows customers to receive three types of bread delivered to their door for $35.
At the moment, it's unclear if the pop-ups will continue while Kirk gets the new restaurant off the ground. We'll update this story if we learn more.
