The Real Foods Group, owner of Kauai and other food brands in South Africa, has launched a gourmet chicken burger chain called Free Bird.

Originally ‘opened’ at the end of May, the Real Foods Group said that it had to pivot the chain due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

This means that it will initially start trading as a virtual brand in dark kitchens around Cape Town, Sandton and Pretoria available via UberEats and Mr D.

It added that it plans to open physical retail locations over the coming months.

“We saw the gap for a differentiated, premium, free range crispy chicken burger and strips concept earlier in the year, but accelerated our launch plans during lockdown and switched to dark kitchens,” said Dean Kowarski, chief executive officer of Real Foods.

“It’s a high-quality menu, made with clean, wholesome ingredients that are locally sourced with full traceability.

“The free-range chicken comes from the Hemel en Aarde Valley near Hermanus, the fries are hand-cut daily, hand-made buns are from Schoon bakery in Stellenbosch, and condiments like pickled vegetables and authentic kimchi are made in-house using simple, fresh ingredients. It’s re-imagining comfort food for a modern era.”

Kowarski said that he takes a practical and positive approach to the challenges that Covid-19 has posed to the restaurant industry.

“We are especially aware of the impact that healthy eating can have on helping to keep communities healthy and will continue in our mission of making it as easy, accessible and convenient as possible.

“The safety of our customers and staff also remains a key priority, so we have put in place social distancing and even more stringent hygiene measures at our stores across the globe.

“We are also adding new measures to make our stores as safe and welcoming as possible for the re-opening of sit-down restaurants this week.”

Source: BusinessTech – https://businesstech.co.za/