Southern Breakfast Classics and Fried Chicken Land in Normal Heights

An all-day restaurant that’s debuting Monday, June 12 on Adams Avenue is putting its own twist on downhome comfort food like chicken and waffles, cheesy grits, and fried chicken. With aims to open more locations throughout San Diego, Young Cluck is launching in Normal Heights where its owners, Pete and Sarah Servold, have lived for almost a decade.

Although this is the first solo restaurant for the Servolds, both are veterans of the food industry. In 2012, the couple founded Pete’s Paleo which became Pete’s Real Food, a San Diego-based meal prep company that now ships its ready-to-eat meals nationwide and was recently named ”Best Gourmet Meal Delivery Service 2023” by People Magazine.

An alum of Le Cordon Bleu, Pete Servold trained in Southern fine dining, including cooking at the since-shuttered Restaurant Eugene in Atlanta, Georgia under James Beard Award-winning chef Linton Hopkins.

His spin on Southern-styled morning classics includes chicken and waffles, pairing maple-brined fried chicken and a pretzel waffle, as well as an egg-topped bowl of Anson Mills grits with crispy bacon and cheddar cheese.

Young Cluck

Open daily at 7 a.m., the restaurant will also offer a lunch and dinner menu anchored by its signature fried chicken, brined in pickle juice and double battered, that will be sandwiched on butter-toasted brioche and served with dill pickles and herb mayo or Sriracha aioli and kimchi slaw. There will also be a popcorn chicken bowl featuring sesame garlic fried rice, yuzu shoyu, pickled radish, and shiso, and a take on a banh mi that features five-spice grilled chicken, hoisin pork butter, pickled vegetables, jalapeno, and cilantro aioli. Expect to see frequent specials, too.

Young Cluck