From its whole fried chicken that comes in a chicken-shaped basket to homemade ice cream sandwiches that are served out of a rolling cooler, Yardbird’s newest and largest restaurant to date is ready to wow Denver diners.
The Miami-based chicken chain debuted its sprawling, 14,950-square-foot restaurant, at 2743 Blake St., on Monday. It’s the eighth location for parent company, 50 Eggs; the others are in Miami, Las Vegas, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Singapore and Chicago. When the Southern comfort-food restaurant first opened in Miami in 2011 it earned plenty of praise, such as the country’s best new restaurant from the James Beard Foundation and Bon Appétit.
“I have a special talent to talk myself and everyone else into things,” 50 Eggs restaurateur John Kunkel said, while in Denver for the opening, of the restaurant’s size.
The spot combines three warehouses that used to make up a manufacturing plant in what is now the River North Art District and sits next door to Puttshack and a soon-to-open Rivian auto-service center. 50 Eggs hired New York-based Rockwell Group to design the expansive space, which kept the original 19th-century wooden ceiling beams, columns and brick with some aesthetic finishes, like hand-painted graphics, antique mirrors and architectural lighting.
“We pretty much put Humpty Dumpty back together over there,” said Kunkel, adding that the restaurant employs 110 people.
Kunkel wanted to expand to Denver because of his longtime friend, Denver restaurateur Frank Bonanno, who owns Culinary Creative concepts like Luca and Denver Milk Market.
“We looked at major cities to expand, and quickly put Denver on our list,” Kunkel said. “Then we toured around the area with Frank and stumbled upon RiNo, which we felt was similar to Wynwood, the neighborhood in Miami where we opened up our first spot. It’s a gentrified area sparked by food and beverage, and the site itself had soul and personality, which is hard to find.”
Upon entrance, guests find themselves inside an intimate lounge lined with leather booths and a bar with a liquor selection that nearly reaches the ceiling (bartenders use a ladder to navigate it). The expansive white-brick dining room has an open kitchen that runs the length of the space. In the future, there will also be a downstairs speakeasy for late-night hours and private events.
Outside, a patio can seat 600 — and Yardbird plans to add a stage for live music and games.
And the menu is just as over-the-top as the space itself. 50 Eggs hired Denver chef Brad Turnipseed, who previously worked at Guard and Grace, to lead the huge kitchen and add his own local touches, like house-cured pork belly with compressed Palisade peaches and bacon jam; or the spice Colorado lamb rack with coal-roasted eggplant and Palisade peach mostarda.
But Yardbird’s signature is fried chicken and waffles with honey hot sauce and bourbon maple syrup, which pairs nicely with the bourbon blackberry lemonade. And for those with a big group, try “The Whole Bird” ($78) for a huge basket of fried chicken with honey hot sauce, chilled spiced watermelon and a Vermont sharp cheddar cheese waffle.
Yardbird is open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and opens at 9:30 a.m. on the weekends for brunch.
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