Pretty Bird Hot Chicken, the Utah fast-casual chain built by a former fine-dining chef, is bringing its hand-trimmed, cider slaw-topped sandwiches to Los Angeles for the first time. The company's fifth location and first outside Utah is set to open inside The Cinemas, a redeveloped movie theater complex in Westwood Village near the UCLA campus, in late September.
The expansion marks a homecoming of sorts for founder Viet Pham, who grew up in California before building his career in Utah, according to KSL News. Pham was born in a Malaysian refugee camp on Pulau Redang in 1979 to Vietnamese parents and immigrated to the United States at seven months old, later growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area before attending the California Culinary Academy and interning at Michelin-starred Fifth Floor under chef Laurent Gras, as reported by InsideHook. Pretty Bird's Los Angeles debut brings the chain's signature menu — fresh hand-trimmed chicken, scratch-made dredge and spice blends, cider slaw, pickles, and a house sauce served across five spice levels from “No Spice” up to “HB” (Hot Bird) — to a market Pham has described as a full-circle moment, per SFGATE.
From a Prius Turkey Fryer to a Regional Favorite
Pretty Bird's origin story traces back to Los Angeles itself. Pham conceived the concept while in the city filming Food Network Star, after a local chef introduced him to Nashville-style hot chicken and prompted him to test recipes using a portable electric turkey fryer in the back of his Prius, according to the same SFGATE report. Before that, Pham had already built a national reputation as co-chef of Forage, a Salt Lake City fine-dining destination that opened in 2009 and earned him Food & Wine's Best New Chef award in 2011 along with three James Beard Award nominations before closing in 2016.
KSL News notes Pham is a James Beard Award finalist who also defeated Bobby Flay on both Iron Chef America and Beat Bobby Flay. He opened Pretty Bird's first counter in 2018 at 146 S. Regent Street in downtown Salt Lake City, and the chain has since grown to four Utah locations in Sugar House, Park City and Midvale.
A Homecoming Built on Awards
Pretty Bird has racked up plenty of hardware along the way. The chain won City Weekly's Best of Utah title for best chicken sandwich in 2025, part of a run the outlet says stretched seven consecutive years, and it was named among the Top 20 fried chicken spots in the country by USA Today. Pham's wife and Pretty Bird co-founder, Alexis Pham, also grew up in California, according to WhatNow, making the Los Angeles opening a joint homecoming. Alexis Pham brings a background in business and the wine industry and oversees the brand's day-to-day operations, financial management, marketing and human resources, the outlet reports.
The move also fits a broader industry pattern. Premium fast-casual fried chicken concepts command average check sizes of $18 to $24 per person, compared to $12 to $15 at traditional quick-service chicken outlets, according to data from Dataintelo, giving chef-driven operators like Pretty Bird stronger unit economics as they expand into new states.
Landing in a Crowded Fried Chicken Market
Los Angeles will not make things easy for the newcomer. It is one of the most competitive hot chicken markets in the country, dominated by chains like Dave's Hot Chicken — which started as an East Hollywood pop-up in 2017 — and local favorites such as the TikTok-famous Red Chickz, according to prior Hoodline reporting. KSL News adds that Dave's Hot Chicken already has seven locations in Utah, underscoring how the two brands are effectively swapping home turf as both chase national growth. The Crack Shack, another hot chicken chain, entered the Utah market in 2021 before closing all of its Utah locations in 2023; those former storefronts were converted into Houston TX Hot Chicken locations, a concept that began in Las Vegas. Starbird has also announced plans to enter the Utah market, per company statements cited by KSL News.
Westwood Village itself has become something of a magnet for new dining concepts chasing UCLA's dense student population. The retail corridor recently welcomed smash-burger concept NADC Burger at 1091 Broxton Ave and Swiss melt spot Laraclette, according to Hoodline's earlier coverage of the neighborhood. Other Utah-born chains, including Cafe Rio, Costa Vida, Crumbl and Waffle Love, already have a presence in California, giving Pretty Bird some regional company as it tests the Los Angeles market for the first time.
