The petite Freret Street location that incubated both Dat Dog and Liberty Cheesesteaks in the last few years has its newest inhabitant: Good Bird will throw open its doors this month with rotisserie chicken sandwiches, salads, smoothies, and breakfast.
Owner Leo Sloan, a New York native, spent several years cooking in Mario Batali’s restaurants before moving to New Orleans and landing a job at Donald Link’s Pêche. He opened his rotisserie chicken food stall in the St. Roch Market just after Mardi Gras in 2016. The food stall location will remain open, making this the second location of Good Bird.
Without much experience in construction, Sloan has been tackling the renovation project alone with his sous chef and manager Drew Mitchell (who does have construction experience). Meanwhile, manager David Schloss manned the stall at St. Roch, allowing Sloan to focus on getting the new location ready.
Though Sloan loves the funky, lived-in feel of lots of New Orleans places, he felt that Good Bird’s home needed a makeover if it was to match the healthy food appeal of his restaurant. The small spot, which “feels like a shack and very endearing” to Sloan, has been gutted, rebuilt, and painted. The spot had always been primarily about take-out given its small space. With a re-design, they’ve been able to add 12 very comfortable seats (14-16 seats if everyone packs in).
The menu at the new spot won’t see major changes, except for the addition of a few more sandwiches, smoothies, breakfast toasts, and some more healthy options.
Opening hours will be 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., six days a week.
