Sherman Oaks Rotisserie Chicken Spot Gone After Just One Year

One of the Valley’s newer fast casual options is down for the count, as Wild & Free has quietly closed in Sherman Oaks after just one year. The simple corner rotisserie chicken shop is now locked up tight, with tipsters over the weekend reporting the sudden shutter.

Yelp is now also listing the restaurant as officially closed, and there’s a note taped to the window that reads:

Big thanks to all our customers for your patronage and support. We love Sherman Oaks!

Reached for comment, owner Terry Heller declined to discuss the closure directly, only saying that his company Clever Hospitality Group is “re-concepting” the Van Nuys Boulevard space. The plan is to still serve chicken as the primary protein, but it’s unclear exactly what form the new restaurant’s menu will take.

Heller had early plans to dive full-on into the fast casual space with Wild & Free, banking on a lower-cost service model, less expensive chicken main dishes, and small money-saving moves like going cash-free. It’s a move others like the Kismet team are also undertaking. Heller, meanwhile, is still rather busy with his original concept Plan Check, and whatever new idea he may have cooking for the (now former) Wild & Free space. More on this as it comes.

Wild & Free. 4550 Van Nuys Blvd., Los Angeles, CA.

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