Le Chick in Wynwood Serves Rotisserie Chicken and the Fowl Play Cocktail

On the heels of the departure of the highly admired Wynwood fast-casual eateries Dizengoff and Federal Donuts, rotisserie-chicken spot Le Chick will open next week on the same block where the two concepts resided.

Cofounders/managing partners Coco Coig and Jorge Sanchez say their business model is to cater to the dinner crowd. "The places that are available on our block are dedicated to lunch," Coig says. "Understanding the amount of construction that's going on, it's very tough to cater to this lunch crowd."

Le Chick will open for dinner and will also seek out the neighborhood's late-night dining crowd, with a bar menu available until 3 a.m. and DJ sets Thursday through Saturday nights. Lunch service will follow in the future.

Coig and Sanchez, along with managing partner Max Van de Put, found the inspiration for Le Chick from a fast-casual spot in Amsterdam: Rotisserie Amsterdam. The partners expressed interest in both the brand and and the food and thought Miami was missing a rotisserie-inspired approach. Coig says they wanted to take the concept to Wynwood because of the unique community that has been created in the neighborhood. "Le Chick has the ability to be on par with the staples that are found in Wynwood."  Helming the kitchen is executive chef Victoria Delloca, who was most recently at B Bistro & Bakery. Chicken is a large component of the menu, along with side dishes such as onion rings and five kinda of fries. In addition to rotisserie chicken, there will be a rotating burger of the month and fried chicken. Le Chick's version is brined overnight for 12 hours and then soaked in buttermilk before being fried with a special spice mix. One of the biggest challenges for Delloca was adjusting recipes from Amsterdam and finding the same spice blends from Europe. Starters will range in price from $7 to $32, entrées will run $15 to $36 and all desserts will cost $8 each.

The 4,700-square-foot space has an industrial feel, with rustic steel accents complemented by art installations by Richard Guaty. Customers can enjoy their food and drinks in the dining area overlooking an open kitchen, in the indoor bar and lounge, or on the patio, which will be finished this spring.

Cocktails are crafted by bar manager José Ortega, who recently won an award in the Best Bubbly Cocktail category at the IBA World Cocktail Championships in Copenhagen. Drinks will have playful, poultry-centric names such as the Fowl Play, made with Buffalo Trace bourbon, mint syrup, cinnamon, ginger, and coffee bitters ($14), and Mother Cluckers, prepared with Ketel One vodka, Chartreuse, Italicus liqueur, lime juice, strawberry, rosemary, and ginger beer ($14). "My cocktail program was created with our food menu in mind," Ortega says. "For example, I created ‘Mr. Woo,’ which is a refreshing drink using gin, cilantro-sriracha syrup, and orange-celery bitters for lighter food items such as our black kale fennel salad."

Le Chick. 310 NW 24th St., Miami; lechickmiami.com. Opens Tuesday, March 13. Hours will be Sunday through Tuesday 5 p.m. to midnight and Thursday through Saturday 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. Lunch coming soon.