When Chef Viet Pham stepped away from the world of fine dining, he wasn’t leaving behind his culinary standards; he was bringing them to one of America’s most beloved comfort foods. He, his wife Alexis Pham, and their concept Pretty Bird have quickly become one of the top fast casual chains in the Salt Lake City area.
Together, they have grown the company from a single downtown restaurant into a four-unit chain. The brand has been awarded City Weekly’s Best Hot Chicken Sandwich title seven years in a row, along with numerous local and national accolades.
Chef Pham is a three-time James Beard Foundation Award nominee who was named one of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs in 2011. Throughout his career, he has earned national recognition through appearances on television competitions, including winning Iron Chef America and defeating Bobby Flay on Beat Bobby Flay.
Before launching Pretty Bird, he was the chef-owner of Forage, a fine dining destination known for its innovative tasting menus and locally sourced ingredients. Alexis, whose background is rooted in business and the wine industry, oversees the company’s day-to-day operations, finance, marketing, and human resources.
Debuted in 2018, the inspiration for the concept came years earlier, when Viet was in Los Angeles filming Food Network Star. During that trip, he visited Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken, an experience that completely reshaped the way he viewed fried chicken.
“He saw the opportunity to take something simple and familiar and elevate it using the techniques, discipline, and attention to detail he had developed throughout his fine dining career,” Alexis explained.
Nearly everything that defines Pretty Bird is made in-house using Chef Viet’s original recipes. From hand-trimmed fresh chicken and dredge to the spice blends, bread, sauces, and cider slaw, every recipe was developed from scratch with one goal in mind: creating the highest-quality hot chicken experience possible.
“Our recipes combine Nashville-style inspiration with chef-driven techniques. Every spice blend, sauce, and side has been developed to complement the chicken rather than overpower it,” she continued, calling the flavor profile “bold, balanced, and incredibly craveable.”
The restaurant’s signature Pretty Bird Sandwich remains its best-selling menu item, while the house-made Pretty Bird Sauce has developed a loyal following of its own. Their namesake, and the business’s, comes from a line in the classic comedy Dumb and Dumber.
Since it first opened its doors eight years ago, Pretty Bird has expanded to also run locations in Sugar House, Park City, and Midvale. The restaurants range in size from 525 square feet at the downtown location, up to 3,200 square feet, and operate daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Every location is designed and built from the ground up, with inviting spaces and open kitchens where guests can watch every meal being prepared. Around 10 to 15 team members work at each store, including general managers, shift leads, and crew members.
The Phams credit their success in the food scene here to the many layers of support they have received along the way.
“We’ve been fortunate to have incredible mentors, business advisors, loyal employees, and our operating partner who helped support the company’s growth. We’ve also learned a tremendous amount from surrounding ourselves with experienced restaurant professionals and continuously looking for ways to improve,” Alexis said.
She also shared that the brand is looking to expand further — even out of state — but that Pretty Bird is keeping its plans under wraps for now.
