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Plan Check’s Founder Promises New Chicken Joint in the Valley

Wild & Free wants to rethink the yardbird

Terry Heller
Farley Elliott is the Senior Editor at Eater LA and the author of Los Angeles Street Food: A History From Tamaleros to Taco Trucks. He covers restaurants in every form, from breaking news to the culture, people, and history that surrounds LA's dining landscape.

Don’t look now but there’s more rotisserie chicken on the way, this time operating under the name Wild & Free. The concept comes from Terry Heller, the founder of Plan Check, and represents a new fast casual shift for his company Clever Hospitality.

Whereas Plan Check remains a burger operation with lots of fried chicken love on its menu, Wild & Free will operate primarily as a roasted chicken spot. Guests will be able to choose from a collection of different spiced birds, sides, and sauces, though the final details on the menu are still being worked out. Also expect beer and wine for the space along Van Nuys Boulevard.

The arrival of Wild & Free should help Heller branch out from his first big sit-down restaurant success with Plan Check. That company now has four stable outlets across Los Angeles, and recently inked a deal to take the brand to the Middle East as well.

The move also puts a renewed focus on rotisserie chicken in all its forms, especially in the crowded fast casual market. Parisian bird option Mon Petit Poulet is just now up and running in Venice, and you can find quality rotisserie chickens everywhere from Republique on down. There’s no firm opening date for Wild & Free, but expect something late spring or early summer.

Wild & Free
4550 Van Nuys Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA