Fried Chicken, Oysters and Bubbly: Coming Soon to Northwest 23rd

Two former Red Star Tavern executive chefs plan Pelican's Waiting Room as soon as March, according to their Instagram.

Fried chicken and oyster pop-up Pelican's Waiting Room looks to be opening a permanent location as soon as March on Northwest Kearney and 23rd Avenue.

Kyle Rourke and Thomas Dunklin–two previous executive chefs at Kimpton restaurant Red Star Tavern downtown–have applied for a liquor license for Pelican's Waiting Room, the title of a pop-up restaurant the two had previously run with an a la carte menu including various permutations of fried chicken, waffles and bubbly. Their bartender for the pop-ups has been acclaimed Red Star bartender Brandon Lockman. Craft cocktails are also planned at the new spot, according to their Instagram.

Two types of champagne were served at their July dinner—both the Champagne of France and the champagne of beers, Miller High Life.

Here's a menu from a previous pop-up:

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The Instagram for Rourke's and Dunklin's No Comply Food Group shows the two hard at work sanding the bar and refurbishing the location, with tags of #oysters and #friedchicken.

"Well with out further anticipation we have found a home to hang out aprons!!" says one post. "It's been a long time coming. We are excited to announce Pelican's Waiting Room will be coming to life in March. Stay tuned as the details finalize."

The sign looks like this—and it is neon.

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No Comply's representative at law firm Davis Wright Tremaine declined comment, but Red Star confirmed that Rourke is no longer executive chef at the restaurant, and he has been removed from their website. No current executive chef is listed at Red Star.

The little house on 23rd and Kearney house location has been a troubled home to a variety of bars, hosting four different businesses in about as many years: Laurelwood, Northwest Public House, the short-lived Huckleberry Pub and, most recently, the short-lived Peddler and Pen, which lasted from July 2015 until this February.

The house has both upstairs and downstairs seating, and Pelican's has an ambitious opening schedule posted on their liquor license—from 8 am to 2 am daily—with 54 indoor seats and 32 on the patio.

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