Something to crow about

Celebrity chef David Chang’s fried chicken sandwiches fly into Austin

Fuku will flock to you via third-party delivery services in Austin.

Shake your tail feathers, chicken sandwich lovers. “The sando that started it all” is hatching a new delivery-only fried-chicken joint in Austin.

Fuku — the fast-casual concept from James Beard Award-winning chef David Chang of New York City restaurant Momofuku Noodle Bar and Netflix series Ugly Delicious — opens in Austin on Thursday, October 21.

Fuku, which specializes in thigh-meat chicken sandwiches, chicken fingers, and waffle fries, is making its menu of saucy, spicy bites available in Austin thanks to a partnership with culinary platform REEF Kitchens, essentially a ghost kitchen service. Fuku delivery is rolling out first to the Central East Austin area but the brand has plans to make its deliveries available “around the Austin metropolitan area” soon.

Deliveries will be made through third-party services Uber Eats, DoorDash, Grubhub, and Postmates.

Fuku began with a secret sandwich at Chang’s Michelin-starred Momofuku Noodle Bar, and quickly gained cult status among chicken sandwich fanatics, leading to the opening of a Fuku shop in 2015 in the East Village in New York City.

While reps for the brand note it is focused on offering guests “approachable, tasty food that draws from both Asian and American influences,” Fuku has dealt with its share of egg-on-the-face issues as the company has grown, but the delivery-only shops continue to roost in a variety of markets, including Atlanta; Baltimore; Boston; Dallas; Houston; Washington, D.C./Arlington; Miami/Fort Lauderdale; Philadelphia; and Seattle. With that growth, its move into Austin seemed somewhat inevitable.

As part of its Austin launch, Fuku will gift customers with free delivery via Uber Eats through November 15.

“As a brand that proudly embraces weirdness, we know we’ll feel right at home in Austin,” says Alex Munoz-Suarez, CEO of Fuku. “We can’t wait to serve this city and contribute to its unparalleled food scene.”

lunch east-austin openings chefs

Back to the Plow

Homey Austin jam and bake shop closing and returning to farmers market

Confituras/Instagram

Confituras Little Kitchen is closing its brick-and-mortar store, but feeling optimistic about the future.

A famers market find is returning to its natural environment after six years in a brick-and-mortar location. Confituras Little Kitchen, which specializes in locally sourced preserves, is closing its jam and biscuit shop after service on Sunday, December 22. However, it will continue selling goods at the Barton Creek Farmers Market and via retailers.

Confituras announced the change in a newsletter to its customers in December. The letter called the news "bittersweet."

"Although the brick and mortar will no longer be, the good news is that this will be a fresh new start for us – we are bursting with energy and creativity at the thought of being back out in the community where it all started for confituras," it said.

The kitchen is closing because the lease is up, and the team has decided to "give up the chase." The newsletter emphasized the ups-and-downs of business over the past several years — ones that were chaotic for just about any business, let alone a small, fairly niche food operation.

"So much has happened since we decided to open a brick + mortar – a wonderful kickstarter fundraiser, THE PANDEMIC, the AFTER-EFFECTS OF THE PANDEMIC, and an ever growing city," the letter says. "We tried so very hard but never really got our footing. We know we are not alone, many small business are in the same boat. We renewed our lease during the pandemic because we were hopeful we could make it work - the changing times had other ideas."

Finally, it shared how customers could keep enjoying Confituras creations:

The Barton Creek Farmers Market is open at 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy. every Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm.
A list on confituras.net compiles retailers including Royal Blue Grocery, Farmhouse Delivery, and Antonelli's Cheese Shop.
Jam share and Table22 subscription customers will have more instructions coming soon about picking up their goods in January at the same space, 2129 Goodrich Ave.
Customers may also reach out to inquire about continuing to order meals directly.

The kitchen also hosted frequent events and workshops, but the letter did not address this aspect of the business.

A shorter message shared on Instagram has inspired 63 comments so far, five days later. Customers eulogized the shop for its community feel and providing a sense of regularity during the height of the pandemic thanks to weekend pick-ups.