Brazenly stolen from Kwei Fei’s Instagram feed.

pop-up
\ ‘päp-‘?p\

Phrasal verb of pop

To appear or occur suddenly and unexpectedly.

Used in reference to retail opportunities, dining experiences, and flashy ads promising untold sweepstakes riches, pop-ups are the surprise party of modern times. So what does it mean if a restaurant is popping up … permanently? Beats me, so I spoke to two chefs currently doing just that to find out.

Specifically, Chef David Schuttenberg of Kwei Fei and Chef Jeffrey Stoneberger of 2Nixons — The Bergs, as I now think of them — have officially set up shop forever. Well, sort of. Appearing with his magical Sichuan cuisine every Friday and Saturday night from 6 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. at The Daily, Chef David disagrees with the nomenclature. “We’ve never considered ourselves a pop-up per se, always preferring the term ‘residency.’ Much like an artist who sets up shop in a gallery away from home, we may have been the first to use that term for a food-based business here in Charleston. We’re starting to see it a lot more now. Jeffrey at Proof, Shuai at EO Brewing every Tuesday. It makes a lot of sense. We wanted to establish an identity for Kwei Fei — a vibe — and it’s difficult to do in a parking lot under a tent.”

Pop up, shmop up, Chef David credits Chef Jeffrey with abetting the earliest stages of his residency. “I leaned on Jeffrey a bit before starting Kwei Fei. I was a little beaten down after a couple of bad runs upon moving here, and I wanted to pick his brain on how to make it all happen. I spent a weekend with him at [Charles Towne] Fermentory and [Craft] Conundrum when he needed a hand, and that helped me understand the logistics of everything, for sure.”

Chef Jeffrey, residing every Friday from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. at Proof, has been about the pop up life for a while. The self-described “white dude from Delaware” is finally enjoying some stability with his sensational Japanese fare. “I have to give thanks to (Proof owner) Craig Nelson for this amazing opportunity. It’s worked out so well that I would jump at the right chance to do more. As for the shift from popping up, I am so grateful that I no longer have to receive phone calls from disappointed guests who showed up at the wrong location. Also a major advantage is that I get to make the regulars of my favorite cocktail bar in the country, my regulars as well. There’s nothing cooler than that.”

For his part, Chef David was so impacted by his weekend with the 2Nixons chef, that it did not matter if the pop up life chose him. “Residency was our plan from day one, and a lot of that had to do with my weekend with Jeffrey. I don’t think most people understand how hard that guy hustles. I was hoping for a greater sense of normalcy out of the gate, and I got that, thanks to Michael and Melody (Shemtov) granting me access to the Daily, as well as Workshop for my prep. Residency allows people to understand that we will be there regularly, much like a ‘normal’ restaurant. Knowing the kitchen (and actually having a legit kitchen) gives us freedom to execute our cooking at a higher level and a la minute. We have a feel for service flow, are able to hire a small staff who can rely on the regular hours. It allows us to provide a slightly elevated guest experience from your normal pop up, though we fully recognize our limitations working the way we do.”

At the same time, even a slightly elevated experience allows for plenty of chaos. “I constantly have half a restaurant in my car,” Chef David laments. “It always smells like Chinese food in there. Shall I go on? Loading in, setting up, tearing down, and loading out two days in a row, every single week is a real bitch. Prepping in one place and then moving everything to The Daily, and then dragging my ass back there after the weekend to get my stuff out of their walk-in, while trying my hardest to not disrupt their business … On top of that, I often feel limited in my ability to explore Sichuan food completely because of these issues.”

Similarly, Chef Jeffrey summarizes it neatly, saying “The biggest challenge is managing expectations. People sometimes don’t understand we are juggling metaphorical hula hoops that are lit on fire.”

Nonetheless, these chefs clearly love what they do, and the frustrated, slightly charred, Asian food-stinking men behind the Powerful Oz are rarely glimpsed. Rather, the two talented chefs make it look easy, and whether it’s that, adrenaline addiction, or a less-expensive way to feel out a concept, pop ups continue to proliferate. Accordingly, both chefs harbor secret culinary fantasies where some of their peers are concerned.

“Without a doubt, Pigeonhole is the most memorable pop up I’ve been to in the last year,” shares Chef David. “I was literally begging Ray England to make that a regular thing. He, Philip Powers, and Katy Keefe nailed it, with house-made everything; Lox, bagels, pastrami, latkes. So, so, so, so, good. RAY! BRING IT BACK!”

For his part, Chef Jeffrey would like to throw Chef Vandy Vanderwarker, recently departed from The Ordinary, under the bus. “I would love to see someone crush a French classics pop-up. Honestly, I want my dear friend Vandy to do one. For the last few years, Vandy put out the most consistently awesome food in Charleston. The fact that he didn’t get at least a James Beard nom should be a crime.”

With all this talk of potential pop-up world domination, it’s hard not to have reveries of my own. Imagining the love child between Kwei Fei’s fiery Szechuan flavors and 2Nixons’ ramen-filled umami bombs, the only real challenge is picking the name. Whether 2Feis, Kwai Nixon, or anagram Fox Weinies, when asked if they’d ever consider colluding, Chef Jeffrey is all about it. “I don’t think either of us have ever said it out loud, but of course we’ve considered this, and I think it would be mobbed. Like ‘free Krispy Kreme’ mobbed. Although I don’t like to speak for anyone, I’m pretty sure this will happen eventually.”

Alas, until Wineskin becomes a reality, pilgrims can plan to spend their Friday nights trudging the three-quarter mile expanse of King in order to dip some sesame wheat noodles into some fried shiitake and charred ginger dashi and glimpse what one can only hope is the future.

Ed note: As of press time, we learned that Schuttenberg and his Kwei Fei concept would be moving on up and out of The Daily into The Lot on James Island. Chef David says of the move, “When we started, the purpose or intent was to always brick and mortar this concept.” Vanessa and Alex Harris of Pour House and The Lot say of the partnership with Chef David and his wife Tina, “We’re super excited to be partnering up with another local business at The Pour House. We’ve been frequenting Kwei Fei regularly over the past year and love what Tina And David do. Excited to embark on another creative endeavor!” Look for Kwei Fei to move into its new space early November.

The post Two successful Charleston pop-up chefs talk about finding a semi-permanent niche in the city (Charleston City Paper) appeared first on Vanessa Wolf, MBA.

Nonetheless, while Chef Lefebvre’s itinerant venture was a triumph, success is not guaranteed and the risks can outweigh the rewards. “Sometimes pop-ups are a gamble,” noted Geechie Chef Benjamin Dennis says. “You’ve invested in the food, but you don’t know if people will come out. Will the community come? Are they going to support it?”

If money woes weren’t enough, there are also challenges with makeshift kitchens and the inherently nomadic working conditions. “The itinerant life is rough,” emphasizes Chef David Schuttenberg of Kwei Fei, a Sichuan pop-up he operates primarily out of The Daily. “Moving a restaurant around in the back of a 2002 Volkswagen Jetta is not sensible, especially at my age.”

It seems there may also be a correlation between adrenaline and a sense of humor, as area pop-up chefs clearly thrive on both. “Before every pop-up I usually have a panic attack, because I know what’s about to happen,” laughs Chef Shuai Wang of Short Grain, reflecting on the process.

That stated, and considering the very real challenges of managing money, marketing, and venue, while still creating a mouthwatering menu, what drives local chefs to run pop-up restaurants? The reasons, it turns out, are as diverse as the cuisines being offered.

A common driver is simple economics. “When I first did pop-ups it was a survival thing,” says Dennis. “It was to build my name and pay bills and make money.”

“I think it’s safe to say that shortly after moving here, well, shit hit the fan,” echoed Jeffrey Stoneberger of 2Nixons. “I needed income. I needed something that paid, so I did what I had to do. I jumped in. I didn’t expect 150 people to show up. I’m standing there cooking by myself and completely overwhelmed, but everything just sort of magically worked.”

For others, that initial impulse was driven by finding a way to cook one’s own food, showcase a different type of cuisine, or even reconnect with one’s original joy in cooking. “We started Pigeonhole as a creative outlet for Philip (Powers) and me,” says Chef Ray England of his Jewish deli pop-up. “Philip does barbecue everything right now, but he has a diverse background. I moved here from L.A. where I was involved with a range of cuisines, but I’m doing Mexican food and only that. We needed a way to express ourselves more.”

“I moved to Charleston to work on the Wise Buck project,” Schuttenberg says. “When that fell apart, I took the Fish job, and that didn’t work out either. I’d been here two years and I now had, essentially, two failures in my career. That had never happened to me before, so I had to ask myself, ‘What am I missing?’ Eventually, I looked back to the period I was inspired as a chef, and I wanted to try to recapture the feeling of being involved in something fun and obnoxious, but still special. Popping up allows me to do that.”

The itinerant lifestyle also offers a way for chefs to explore a new food concept or even satisfy a nostalgic craving.

“The Jewish deli thing started in part because I really miss Russ & Daughters in New York and Wexlers in L.A.,” says England of Pigeonhole. “I miss being able to get a great bagel. You just can’t find that here.”

“The one thing I really missed about eating in New York, and what really seemed to be a glaring hole in the market, was Asian food,” echoed Schuttenberg. “And I really, really missed Sichuan food especially. I love to take an elevated proper French technique and apply it to street food, peasant food.”

“A lot of it is actually just secret menu testing for future endeavors,” Wang adds. “I have so many crazy ideas for dishes that I just want to share with everyone. At the end of the day, pop-up chefs like us are just madly in love with what we do, so much so, we want to share that with everyone. We might not have restaurant spaces to do that in (or at least yet), but we’d be damned if that stopped us.”

Regardless of the impetus, it’s clear a key element to the success of a local pop-up restaurant depends on the support of the populace, something Charleston emphatically provides. “You can’t really get good dim sum around here,” says England, with respect to Short Grain. “I remember when Shuai did that pop-up at Stems & Skins. It was insane. I couldn’t believe the line. I got there before he opened, and I still had to wait an hour to get in.”

Moreover, due to a likely mix of loyalty, respect, and hunger, the culinary community has shown up in spades.

“We did a pop-up at Proof on the 6th when it was icy and terrible and no one was coming downtown from any place that wasn’t downtown,” recalls Stoneberger. “But a bunch of guys — Rob from Sparrow, Vinson from Zero George, Michael Toscano — they all came in with very little notice. It’s a very supportive community.”

“The F&B community shows up en masse,” Schuttenberg also noted. “We stay open until midnight hoping to serve them, and we’ve seen a lot of people that I really respect in here. There’s nothing better than that. The whole point of this was trying to get back to something I loved. It’s great to be able to share that.”

England shared a similar sentiment about the Kwei Fei pop-ups, noting, “I was really surprised when Dave told me he was going to do Sichuan, because they’re extremely bold flavors, and I didn’t know how it would go over. But I’ve eaten there probably five or six times now, and there are a ton of foodie people in there supporting him. I walk in, and I see Phil from Bar Normandy… And basically, I know everyone in the room.”

A potentially temporary food experience often available only to those in the know, pop-up restaurants are in part popular due to the inherent scarcity itself. But for those who keep returning, it seems the most compelling thing for both the chef and his or her guest might be the experience itself.

“It’s the ability to pour you an $8 chenin blanc that is the most acid-forward, crushing, grapefruit and pineapple wine you’ve ever had, and then to celebrate that with this insanely citrus-forward salad that has crunchy octopus in it and these overly soaked breadcrumb things in it,” enthused Stoneberger. “You can maybe get that in a restaurant, but they’re doing 150 covers. When you get something in a pop-up context it was made for you. Specifically for you. That’s why pop-ups are cool.”

The post Making culinary dreams come true in Charleston sometimes means being an itinerant chef (Charleston City Paper) appeared first on Vanessa Wolf, MBA.