Mean Bird is officially CLOSED.

Mike & Sarah are so grateful for Richmond’s support and excited for the next adventure!
Please visit our instagram for more information on the decision!

We will not be booking any additional events or weddings.

Setting up for our last public day EVER @rvavegfest ✨ All vegan menu. Starts at noon at Byrd Park. Thanks for all the good times, I’m not crying YOU’RE CRYING 💓 we’ll be doing weddings through November so can at least tease you with photos for awhile yet. All the love from Mike & Sarah & crew #friedandtrue

Come see these goons tonight (Thursday 9/12)—last night of the Mean Bird Shop! Here til sell out or 10:30pm, whichever comes first! (The Food Truck will be at @rvavegfest this Saturday with an all vegan menu for our last official open to the public day but this is it for the brick and mortar and real fried chicken!) ALL THE FEELS, THANK YOU RICHMOND ✨⚡️✨⚡️ #friedandtrue

What a wild ride....so proud of Mike‘s talent and dedication and so grateful to everyone that’s paused to tell us how much they enjoy our food—I feel like we’re closing in a big cosmic hug 💪✨ #friedandtrue #foodnetwork @foodnetwork

Looks like we’re going to sell out this evening...you guys must be saying goodbyes! Planning to stay open until 8:00 pm tonight (Friday). Shop closed Saturday for a wedding, back open Sunday at 4:00 pm. Remember we’re no longer doing delivery, walk in only. Check back for updates! THANK YOU! #friedandtrue

Almost four years ago, after a walk on the Chesapeake bay, we started Mean Bird. It was just Sarah and I and an army of friends and family willing to watch our fussy son for long days and restaurant industry hours. We made a ton of mistakes, rewrote our entire menu, did a ton of damage to the food truck, and eventually we started to succeed.

We grew so fast that we were able to open our takeout restaurant a little over a year later. Once again we made a ton of mistakes, had another baby, struggled with staffing, consistency, the new delivery services, and trying to grow our catering business. Growth came slower this time, shop sales were inconsistent but, eventually our catering business grew enough to support us, and eventually became almost more than we could manage.

Our lease at the shop on Main Street is up in October and when we discussed whether or or not it was time to try and grow again; we pretty quickly decided our hearts just weren’t in it. There are tons of chefs and restaurateurs that are
able to find a healthy work/life balance, but I can say (with no shame) that I am not one of those folks. I am also not willing to miss anymore of my two kids lives while I figure it out.

I have hypertension, a bum knee, and an ankle that’s so bad after the long weekends that I have to crawl to the bathroom at night. Despite all that I might have kept doing it, because it is fun. We have met some great people and gotten to travel all over the state to be a part of people’s most important days. At a certain point, all these weddings, parties, and festivals become a reminder of the times I’m missing with my own family and friends. I have two great kids who are delightful, fascinating people, and when they are older and don’t need me as much, I can work on opening a hundred other restaurants. But for now I have some catching up to do.

The shop will be open for the next two weeks (check our social media for updated hours and some special free stuff for our regulars) and our very last day open to the public will be the Richmond Vegetarian festival on our food truck. We’ll be catering booked weddings through November. (Cont in comments)

One of our all time faves—a crab station at Beth & Ellison’s wedding last year 💓 (in addition to fried chicken dinner and cocktail hour spread 👊) so fun watching folks pick crabs in their fancy get ups ✨✨✨While planning, we all thought the idea was amazing but didn’t know if guests would get into it at a wedding—THEY DID 🦀💪

Filling out some @rvavegfest paperwork and now I’m craving Veggie Bird, naturally ✨✨✨ who else is excited for the first year at Byrd Park?! Sept 14th baby! #friedandtrue #veganandtrue

Shop closed tonight (Monday) for a private event 🚐🍗👊 back open tomorrow at 4:00pm! #friedandtrue

Who knew fried chicken could look so romantic✨✨✨ Love celebrating with our wedding clients 💕 #friedandtrue

Shop closed tonight (Monday) for a private event! Back at it tomorrow evening #friedandtrue

giddyup@meanbirdrva.com