The Angry Pickle Pub in Sycamore could open within weeks

SYCAMORE – The owners of The Dirty Bird 815, a staple Sycamore fried chicken restaurant, will soon open up a new food venture in the city’s downtown area.

Dirty Bird co-owner Josh Smith said the new restaurant, called The Angry Pickle Pub, 215 W. State St., will be a completely separate culinary experience from The Dirty Bird. He owns the fried chicken spot with wife, Abby.

“We’re not having any of the fried chicken or anything like that,” Smith said. “So we’re trying to keep them totally separate but still maintain quality at both places.”

Smith said he and his business partners had been considering ways to expand their food business. They initially wanted to establish a new business elsewhere in Illinois before deciding to reinvest in the Sycamore community.

“We know that if we go too far away and we’re not present owners, the quality can be affected,” Smith said. “Our thought was to start another restaurant close to home, where we could still maintain the quality and still be around.”

Smith said he hopes the new restaurant will be open within “the next couple of weeks.”

What will the menu look like?

“Of course with a name like Angry Pickle you’ve got to have pickles on the menu,” Smith said. “There are some pickle dishes that are going to be on the menu but I’m trying not to have everything be pickles.”

Understanding that pickles – like olives or pineapple on pizza – can be a hotly debated food item, Smith said he hopes the menu he creates for The Angry Pickle will include “food for everybody.”

“Not everybody loves pickles but hopefully we have enough food for everybody that everybody can find something on the menu,” Smith said.