On Thursday, long-time restaurateur Dave Query, will give the town of Lafayette the bird, and it will come fried or roasted with a great pint of beer and several comforting sides. The Post Brewing Co. and Good Bird Kitchen, a chicken and beer joint from the Big Red F Group, will open its doors at 105 Emma Street.
The restaurant has what it takes to become a staple: it is casual and friendly, with a selection of food and drinks that are familiar and comforting, but elevated at the same time. It is where families can come for dinner, where local workers can grab a quick lunch, and where friends can spend Sundays watching sports on the TVs around the bar.
The interior is casual but thoughtful. Created by Query himself in close collaboration with several members of his team, the space features rustic wood, comfortable seating, and eclectic light fixtures. Be it from a booth or from the bar, hand-picked design elements like log-clad light fixtures or a stunning elk head mount that came from Wyoming, are visible to guests creating a welcoming dining setting.
Once the weather warms up, a huge backyard will house a big patio bar with little pathways, lots of places to sit, a large fireplace, ping pong tables, basketball hoops, and more.
The brewing room is shiny and new and beer-making will begin shortly under the guidance of Bryan Selders. Selders served as brewmaster for famed DogFish Head Brewery in Milton, Delaware for the first decade of that brewery's life. When he started, production at Dogfish was very small, but during his tenure, the brewery grew and became very popular, winning many national awards, international press and critical praise along the way. At the Post, Selders will create four mainstay taps (Lager, IPA, American Bitter, and a rotating dark) along with two seasonal rotating taps.
The brews, those that will be house-made or others offered on the menu, are selected to pair with the dishes that come out of the kitchen led by chef Brett Smith. Smith has been with Big Red F for almost 15 years with a 6-year hiatus spent on St. John Island and his food at the Post food taps into Southern comfort dishes ranging from fried chicken and Mississipi catfish to warm pimento goat cheese, fresh biscuits, and collared greens.
The bird is definitely the star and it shows up in many iterations. Chicken that spent hours brinning and took a few dunks in buttermilk before being dredged in GLUTEN-FREE flour is fried then finished in an young-oak-wood-burning oven. For those wanting to skip the oil, a rotisserie version is also available. There's also chicken tamales, chicken pot pie, and chicken noodle soup. No desire to eat the bird? No problem. There is beef, pork and fish, and more. The menus are below.
The restaurant will serve weekday lunch, nightly dinner, and will offer week day happy hour. Brunch service will start at the end of the month.
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