CLAUDE THE CLAW CLUCKS HIS WAY BACK TO SAN FRANCISCO WITH A ONE-DAY-ONLY POP-UP
Chef Chris Bleidorn and partner Aarti Shetty’s chicken shop Birdbox is ending its hiatus for one single day, serving the popular Claude the Claw sandwich once again in San Francisco. The South Park location of Birdbox closed in May as the team focused on opening a New York City outpost, but on Sunday, September 8, they’ll hold a pop-up at the Mission Street location of Square Pie Guys from 11:30 a.m. until sold out. “We miss frying chicken ever since we closed on Second Street,” Bleidorn says. “Since it’s been out of operation, we’ve been getting all these messages, like, ‘When are you going to open up?’”
The thing is, there are no plans to reopen San Francisco’s local Birdbox location — yet. What that means is you have one shot to score food from Birdbox for now. At the September 8 pop-up (conveniently located next door from Bleidorn’s two-Michelin-starred Birdsong), he and Shetty will offer the classics: A limited amount of the attention-grabbing Claude the Claw sandwich, a deboned chicken thigh and drumstick with claw attached; a regular sandwich made with chicken breast (Bleidorn’s favorite of the flock); plus quarter chickens. There will be a choice of seasoning, as always — either spicy falcon or the classic yeast. On the side, customers can add on fries with schmaltz and cornbread.
The pop-up is a bid to get back behind the fryers, but Bleidorn and Square Pie Guys owner Marc Schechter also say it’s also a chance to bring customers down to their corner of Mission Street again. “For us, we want to do cool things in this neighborhood,” Schechter says. “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.”
As for Birdbox, Bleidorn says he never thought the pandemic-born business would ever go further than those early days, but its popularity has endured. (Thanks, in part, to Claude’s devoted following, but also the restaurant’s commitment to high-quality poultry — hence the reason behind the claw.) Bleidorn says the New York location has taken off since its opening. The business currently operates out of a ghost kitchen, which it uses as a test space for the dishes. The sandwiches sell out every day.
Already, some plans are in the works to expand in New York, though the question of San Francisco is still being decided. During its nearly two-year run, the San Francisco location of Birdbox remained in business thanks to regulars, Bleidorn says, but “the neighborhood just didn’t drive new customers, not even during baseball season.” For now, the Birdbox team is contemplating new location options, looking at places in San Francisco, along with San Mateo and the South Bay, but with no deadline in sight. “We’re exploring,” Bleidorn says.
The Birdbox pop-up at Square Pie Guys (1077 Mission Street) is on Sunday, September 8, from 11:30 a.m. until sold out. Both the chicken and pizza menus will be available in person or via Doordash delivery on the SPG website on the day of the pop-up.