The popular chicken shop Birdbox, which took a hiatus earlier this year to focus on its New York City expansion, is only popping up for one day in San Francisco. According to SF Eater, the event is slated for Sunday, September 8th, at the Mission Street location of Square Pie Guys.
Chef Chris Bleidorn and his partner Aarti Shetty bring back not just the famed Claude the Claw, a deboned chicken thigh and drumstick with the claw still attached, but also their regular chicken breast sandwich and quarter chickens, with options for spicy falcon or classic yeast seasoning. "We miss frying chicken ever since we closed on Second Street," Bleidorn said, as per SF Eater, expressing a sentiment echoed by the pop-up's host, with Marc Schechter, the owner of Square Pie Guys, stating, “For us, we want to do cool things in this neighborhood”.
The pop-up isn't just a nostalgic trip back to the fryers for Bleidorn and Shetty but also an effort to draw attention to the SoMa area. "We’re just trying to bring some fun attention back to SoMa. If we can give anybody a cool reason to come down and check out this neighborhood, and remind everyone that there’s great food here, we’re down for it”, Schechter explained to SF Eater.
The New York location, operational through a ghost kitchen, has been a smash hit, selling out its offerings daily. Though Birdbox's imprint extends beyond the Bay Area, the idea of a San Francisco comeback isn't off the table. "We're exploring," Bleidorn admits to SF Eater. The San Mateo and South Bay are also in the running for potential new Birdbox spots, but as of now, no firm plans have been announced.
Food enthusiasts and Birdbox regulars have had the pop-up marked on their calendars, as depicted in the Birdbox Instagram post: "We’re back! We miss all our regulars and couldn’t let the summer go by without frying up some chicken." The Square Pie Guys location at 1077 Mission Street will be open from 11:30 a.m. until the menu runs dry this Sunday.
