Many Iowa Citians have had a fried chicken-shaped hole in their lives since John’s Grocery closed its kitchen in early 2022. But this month, they’ll have a chance to fill that void with a two-piece (or two), if they act quickly.
The fried chicken that was a staple for University of Iowa students and other locals for decades will only be available for one night, and almost all the limited supply has already been claimed.
John’s fried chicken is the signature entrée for Chicken Town, an Oct. 16 fundraiser for FEaST, the annual music festival created by Chris Wiersema. Wiersema, who died unexpectedly in March, was “Iowa City’s premiere programmer of experimental music and other out-there sounds,” as Kembrew McLeod explained in the September issue of Little Village.
“Over the past quarter century, he brought hundreds of boundary-breaking artists to town in his myriad roles as a house show promoter, booker for local rock clubs, Mission Creek Festival programming director, and founder of Feed Me Weird Things, his own deep listening series.”
Along with John’s fried chicken, Chicken Town is offering sides from Trumpet Blossom Cafe (potato salad and coleslaw), tofu from Kindred Coffee as a vegan alternative and FEaST kombucha from Wild Culture Kombucha. All the items must be ordered online in advance, and will be available for pick-up at Wild Culture Kombucha (210 N Linn St) starting after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16.
The two-piece orders of fried chicken are being offered at 10-minute intervals, and almost all those time slots sold out less than 12 hours after Chicken Town was announced on social media Tuesday night. There are some openings remaining in the later time slots as of 11 a.m. Wednesday, but they will likely go quickly.
Chicken Town lasts for just one night, but this year’s FEaST stretches over four nights, from Wednesday, Oct. 30 through Saturday, Nov. 2, at the James Theater in Iowa City.
