Over the weekend, I swung by ~STATE BIRD PROVISIONS~ to see how things were progressing and to get a look at the space. Chef-owners Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski are currently gunning to open on New Year’s Eve—there are still a couple contingencies, so it’s not totally confirmed as of right now. They will announce the opening on their website, so keep checking back early next week!
The space wasn’t quite in a photo-ready state, so I just snapped some detail shots for you—for now, you’ll need to rely upon my writerly powers of description, heh. When you first approach the restaurant, the front window will look onto a prep and pastry station, so you’ll be able to see Nicole doing her delicious magic. The open kitchen (which is designed to crank, complete with two planchas and a fryer) runs along the wall, delineated by a long butcher block counter, all made of Boos Block; under the counter, the plywood was stained the color of Mediterranean blue, and the backsplash and walls in the kitchen feature light grey subway tile.
As you walk past the kitchen, you’ll check in with the host, who will either direct you to wait in the small bar area with an eggshell-colored concrete bar by the taps, or if you’re lucky, to a table! There will be 12 tables total, with room for about 44 guests or so in all (the seating was designed to be versatile). Nice feature: the restaurant is using Urbanspoon’s Rezbook, so if there’s a wait, you’ll get a text when it’s time to claim your table.
The dining room features a few skylights, a cement wall, and some rusted/distressed I-beams that are lacquered. The majority of the walls and some of the ceiling in the space are covered in peg board, really bringing the “workshop” concept of the kitchen to life—and creating a very cool pattern.
There are many mid-century elements the duo painstakingly sourced, like the groovy lights, vintage speakers, and the school-ish chairs that came from an auditorium. The tables were custom made, with a Masonite top, plywood edges with more of the aqua blue, and my favorite feature: there’s a small board stashed under each table. You will take out the board, and on one side you’ll discover the menu, while the other will hold the tally sheet for your order (remember, it’s going to be like a dim sum format, with your server keeping track of how many dishes you order as you go along). I got a look at the two custom-made carts that will be wheeling around the room with dishes on them, featuring reclaimed wood from an old boat and powder-coated orange detailing, in addition to custom trays in a soft, early-1960s palette.
As for the team, the GM and wine director is Mary Christie, who has worked with Stuart and Nicole at Rubicon, in addition to Spring in Chicago, and she opened Sel Gris in Portland. When tablehopper returns in your inboxes on January 3rd, I’ll have images of the space and menus for you. Hours will be nightly 6pm-12am. For now, if you want to keep in touch with State Bird Provisions updates, follow the restaurant on Twitter and Facebook.
One of the custom-made dim sum-style carts. Photo: © tablehopper.com.
