After being in the pop-up and food truck game for around a decade, Bonafried owners Stephen Mayer and Bee Hollingsworth are planning to establish a brick-and-mortar location for their exactly fantastic fried chicken sandwiches. Over the past ten years, Bonafried has been featured on the popular YouTube channel Munchies and it won a National Fried Chicken Festival award in 2022.
“We still feel like we’re the new kids on the block, but then we see the actual new kids on the block, and then we’re like, ‘Oh no we’ve been doing this for a long time!’” Hollingsworth laughed in a recent phone interview with What Now New Orleans. “As we got more attention, we started thinking that maybe it’s time to go the restaurant route. We’re getting a little bit older and it’s harder for the two of us to physically do all of the things that it takes to run a food truck — at least as easily and quickly as we used to when were in our 20s!”
The couple had been approached about franchising opportunities and chances to open restaurants outside the Crescent City. But a desire to keep it local and a personal connection led them to a location pinned near the Fair Grounds Race Course at 3101 Grand Route St. John St.
The new restaurant will slightly expand on the current model, as you might expect. Hollingsworth said the restaurant menu will largely resemble the food truck menu, but there will also be regular specials that take advantage of the bigger kitchen space. She also said the restaurant will offer beer, wine and frozen daiquiris. The building is currently undergoing renovations, and a tentative opening date is set for March 2025. The food truck will continue to operate as per usual until then.
