Starbird brings its antibiotic-free chicken to Cupertino

The locally based Starbird chicken restaurant group has just opened its fourth new Bay Area location of the year, and its first ever in Cupertino.

The Stevens Creek Boulevard restaurant, open daily, will celebrate its grand opening at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 20, with a ribbon-cutting, free Starbird meal for the first 500 customers in line when the doors open. and two Starbird Golden Ticket prizes good for a year’s worth of meals.

Starbird’s concept was developed by the innovators at Culinary Edge, who started experimenting with chicken after deciding there were too many burger players in the marketplace. The result was a fresh, antibiotic-free bird that’s marinated in a signature brine before being fried in rice bran oil, which co-founder Aaron Noveshen says gives it a lighter taste and better crunch.

The brand made its debut in 2014 in Sunnyvale.

The signature Starbird 2.0 sandwich is topped with rainbow slaw and avocado. Other sandwiches include the new seasonal Cali Gold BBQ, with bacon and barbecue sauce; the Seoul Star, with a Korean sauce, sweet soy glaze and veggies; and the Nashville HotBird, with a Greek yogurt ranch dressing and dill pickles.

The full lineup features half a dozen salads — including an Elote Chop Salad, Miso Caesar, Green Goddess Cobb — plus chicken tenders, nuggets and wings, all served with housemade sauces and dressings.

Besides Cupertino, Starbird has opened locations in Pleasanton, Palo Alto and South San Francisco this year. The chain plans to add more locations in NorCal and SoCal in 2025.

In a partnership with GiftA Meal, Starbird will donate a meal or multiple meals to the Second Harvest of Silicon Valley Food Bank whenever a customer uploads a photo or photos of their Starbird purchase to GiftAMeal.

Details: Open daily from 10:30 a.m. 10 p.m. Monday-Saturday, until 9 p.m. Sunday. 20080 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 100, Cupertino; www.starbirdchicken.com