Wyld Bird, a Miami-style chicken restaurant, moved onto Reynoldstown’s Memorial Drive in Atlanta from Savannah on Feb. 11. However, instead of opening its own space, the eatery is sharing a space occupied by Atlanta restaurant Home Grown, which closes at 2:00 p.m.
Brad Syfan, co-owner of Wyld Bird, along with his business partner Tony Seichrist, explains that the unconventional marriage of venues happened after he contacted his friend Kevin Clark, the owner of Home Grown, with the idea of occupying it in the evenings.
“My business partner Tony was like, ‘Aren’t you buddies with the guy that owns a Home Grown?” Syfan said. “‘They’re not open at night.’ I am friends with him, [so I] called Kevin and [said], ‘How about if we opened a different restaurant at Homegrown at night?’ [and] he was like, ‘Okay’, no questions asked.”
Wyld Bird’s speciality is its vibrant Miami-style chicken. Syfan explains that he and his business partner originally derived the idea from Cuban-style chicken cooking, adopting a unique twist.
“There’s a place in Miami called Pollo Tropical,” Syfan said. “It’s a fast food Cuban chicken place, but [Siechrist] loved that place when he was a kid, so he’d always had this idea to do the chef’s version of that. At the end of the day, what we do is not exactly like a traditional Cuban Poyosada, there’s some other inspiration mixed in there.”
Years before, however, the restaurant was known for its experimental food pop-ups around Savannah, attracting plenty of regular diners.
“We started doing pop-ups in our own restaurant in the winter, on Friday and Saturday nights, where we do a completely different cuisine,” Syfan said. “We did a sushi one that we really liked, and everyone really liked.”
Hector Benitez, an employee at Wyld Bird, explains that customers have embraced their restaurant and helped it become part of the local community.
“It’s like a neighborhood; everyone who comes in feels like a neighbor,” Benitez said. “Culture has a lot to do with that. They’ve created this kind of friendly place, so I love the customers. Everyone’s been awesome.”
Sophomore Victoria Hicks agrees that Wyld Bird has provided a new place of connection for locals.
“It adds a little homeliness to the community by being cozy, but the ultimate food spot to gather with no pretense of dressing up or being fancy, just good food and family,” Hicks said.
Both Benitez and Syfan are enthusiastic advocates for their distinctive Miami-style chicken.
“My favorite dish has to be just the bone Miami Chicken plate, it’s fabulous,” Syfan said. “It’s a pretty small menu, all the dishes are great, but that’s definitely my favorite. It’s just like it’s hard to stop eating it once you start.”
Hicks agrees and said she enjoyed the food very much and is likely to go back.
“It was so good,” Hicks said. “In my opinion, it had just the right amount of seasoning while still being moist and melt-in-your-mouth worthy. It’s some of the best chicken I’ve ever had, and I would eat it again.”
According to Syfan, Wyld Bird has faced challenges spreading the word of their opening within Home Grown, but the new venture is slowly developing a following.
“Home Grown’s been here for so long, and it’s always been just breakfast and lunch, and so we’re trying to just continually push the word out that there’s something here at dinner and that it’s something different than Home Grown,” Syfan said.
Hicks encourages people to visit Wyld Bird and try out their specialty Miami-style chicken recipes.
“I would encourage people to go there because it’s exactly what I look for in a restaurant,” Hicks said. “It has a little something for every taste bud and really good food that is easily accessible and family-friendly, so everyone can find a place there.”
