sneakybird, a local and family-owned restaurant that opened its doors in the Valley in 2022 and offers a quick, craft, casual approach to signature oven-grilled chicken wings, tenders, and sandwiches complemented by handcrafted flatbreads, tater tots, and fresh chilled veggies, announced the opening of its second restaurant. Located at Verde at Cooley Station – 3945 E. Williams Field Road in Gilbert – the 1,550-square-foot restaurant is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“The secret to the success of sneakybird, spelled with all lowercase letters by design to underscore its sneaky-good and sneaky guilt-free product, is the combination of a specially designed oven and innovative breading recipe that blends panko flatbread as well as aged parmesan that together combine to give the crunch and flavor of fried chicken,” said Gilbert resident Jordan Strasser, managing member of J2E Investments, LLC, who – with his mother, father, and brother – own the new location. “The process is applied to a gorgeous array of oven-grilled chicken wings, tenders, and sandwiches.”
“Of course, for those who prefer something that feels more like grilled chicken, each of the chicken options may also be ordered “naked,” which means it is grilled breadless with SPG, which is the salt, pepper, and garlic dry rub,” said Strasser.
sneakybird also features four handcrafted flatbreads – Chicken Pesto, Margarita, Pepperoni and the Islander, which features honey-chipotle sauce, mozzarella, pineapple, capicola, and fresh cilantro – as well as three epic options for tater tots (including a sweet potato alternative), salad, coleslaw, and even a chilled vegetable medley. There are also copious options for kids, all focused on the same craveable philosophy.
Catering is already available at the new location as well. sneakybird is exceptionally organized in its catering system thanks to ample, well-made, custom boxes that are just as easy to carry as to serve in versus having to transfer all the goodies to flimsy plates and platters. Options range from packages for just two-to-three diners to ample offerings that can serve up to 10 people per box. All sauces are served on the side so there is no fear of food getting soggy, and the sides and salads have their own proprietary system as well, with some sides easily serving up to 20 guests with ease.
“We are also in the process of getting our community outreach program up and running,” said Strasser. “We are deeply committed to nurturing the local school ecosystem, hosting fundraising events, and actively participating in community events. Our doors are always open to collaborate and foster a spirit of unity and growth.”
For Strasser, the new restaurant is more than just a business, but the opportunity to work with his family to feed the local community.
“Our family – the team behind J2E – discovered sneakybird while on vacation in Scottsdale last summer,” said Strasser. “We were looking for a healthy alternative to fried food – chicken in particular – and could not believe the quality. It kept us coming back day after day. By our trip’s conclusion, we set up a meeting with founder Dan Chaon and his team and made plans to open operations of J2E in Arizona to start the expansion process with him.”
J2E has big plans for the brand. In partnership with founder Chaon, they are in the midst of developing several locations across Maricopa County over the next 18 months, including sister restaurants set for Hudson Station in Queen Creek as well as Prasada in Surprise targeted for opening by fall 2024. sneakybird also has plans for locations in Arcadia, Dove Valley, and additional Southeast Valley restaurants by the close of 2025.
Creating successful businesses is nothing new for the Strasser family. After working as a police officer in their native Wisconsin for several years, family patriarch Terry Strasser made the transition to business leadership and entrepreneurial with his wife, Jill.
“For the past quarter century, they have built a number of successful brands across the nation, including FedEx franchises, Sport Court Wisconsin and more while raising my brother, Jaeden, and me,” said Jordan Strasser. “In recent years, I have been proud to finish my schooling and work on their team, with J2E as our first major joint project, centered on sneakybird.”
The Strasser family, who moved to Gilbert in 2023, were as impressed with sneakybird’s business structure and the integrity of its leadership as with the product itself.
“Dan Chaon, who founded the brand with his own son, Nate, in 2023, believes in creating an employee- and customer-centric culture that supports each other as well as the community that they call home. We are proud to be on the ground floor of what we believe is a revolutionary concept, and beyond Arizona, we are already eying a timeline that will allow us to expand the brand into the Midwest in the next few years,” said Strasser.
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