In just a few months, a fried chicken shack in Ulster County went from pop-up to beloved.
Love Bird opened in Accord in November 2020 as a pop-up concept that seemed as though it might become permanent. Until two weeks ago, when owner Holly Sheppard decided she was returning full time to Fig & Pig Catering, her pre-pandemic focus.
“It was definitely sad,” she says. Her catering gigs, including many weddings postponed last summer, have all flooded back. “I can’t handle this as one person, it’s a lot — the restaurant plus all of these weddings. My commitment is to these weddings first.”
Things might have been different had Sheppard not already been contending with a labor shortage, or if she had business partners, or had found another chef to run the space. “I couldn’t. I had ads out everywhere,” she says.
She also struggled to get customers to come in and sit down, even with an expanded outdoor space and a liquor license, versus only ordering take out. The space, on Route 209, has been difficult historically, she notes. “People thought we were killing it because so many people loved it and all the reviews were good, but there were nights with really low numbers I couldn’t cover labor costs,” she shares.
Still, she felt she could surmount these odds, but not while being pulled in so many directions. “Catering I have done for years. I am good at it and it brings me joy.”
Saturday June 26th was the final day of Love Bird. Sheppard also had three weddings that weekend. “It’s like the roaring 20s — people are ready to party,” she says of these jobs, even with added pandemic precautions and the fear of the new delta variant hanging in the air.
If COVID continues to be largely under control, Sheppard may lease a Brooklyn catering space again in 2022, but for now she’s cooking everything in the former Love Bird kitchen in Ulster County and bringing it to Brooklyn and elsewhere for weddings and more.
Love Bird customers yet to get the news are still coming by. “I feel sad, like I let the community down. I am going to miss everyone. I had such hardcore regulars, but maybe their cholesterol will thank me!” she says.
Love Bird is not dying completely — Sheppard has plans to bring back the pop-up occasionally, with week-long, guest chef residencies and events.
But none of this will happen in time for National Fried Chicken day on Tuesday, July 6, when patrons might normally be queueing up for Love Bird's signature fried chicken box or fried chicken sandwich with remoulade, Alabama sauce and pickles. To get your fix, Sheppard suggests The Roost in Stone Ridge which is open on Tuesdays, unlike other notable local spots.
To reflect the big change, Sheppard has changed her Instagram handle from @LoveBirdCatskills to @LoveBirdPopUps. She will post scheduled events there, which might not always include fried chicken. “I might get wild and do some BBQ,” she warns. The space will also be available to rent for parties, showers, and rehearsal dinners.
“It’s really cute now and the Love Bird menu is perfect for a lot of those kinds of parties.”
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