SLO County’s only fried chicken food truck is back from the dead. Here’s how to snag some

San Luis Obispo County’s only food truck exclusively serving fried chicken is back.

The Grinning Bear is planning to be back and operating the week of Feb. 24, according to owner and chef Brenen Bonetti, after first closing in recent years due to changes in the market.

“I really was driving that thought, and I was going to do this again, and then all the gears have kind of been moving and everything’s been falling in place, and found myself here right now,” Bonetti told The Tribune.

The food truck opened in October 2020 with a successful business venture during the pandemic. Part of its appeal? It’s the only local food truck that exclusively serves fried chicken, Bonetti said.

When restaurants opened back up, however, fewer and fewer people began visiting the truck by the end of 2021.

To save the business, Bonetti transitioned to pop-ups around SLO by Avila Market and Pismo Beach. Then in 2023, he became head chef of Rambling Spirits and helped open the distillery while the truck was at an RV lot, Bonetti said.

Bonetti said during that time he was “never able to let the truck go, because it’s such a big piece of what (he) had put into it.:

“I’m glad I didn’t,” he said. “I mean, there were so many points where I thought I was just gonna sell it, move on. But it’s just a part of me. Can’t really let that go now.”

Once Rambling Spirits closed its doors, Bonetti began having thoughts of bringing The Grinning Bear back. He said because the food truck’s Instagram page was still live, he would routinely get comments asking when the business was coming back.

“So I realized there’s still a need for it,” he said. “That was kind of my test: If I do come back, is this a viable option for for me and for the community to have the truck rolling around again? And if I do it, I intend on doing it a little bit more full steam than I had done in 2020.”

Now, Bonetti is preparing the food truck for a new future of fried chicken goodness.

“There’s just an excitement because it seems like it’s so rare for us, especially on the West Coast, for us, to get our hands on good fried chicken,” Bonetti said. “So it’s kind of that little — not necessarily a guilty pleasure — it’s just a missing joy that we don’t really have out here.”

What’s on the menu at SLO County fried chicken food truck?

The Grinning Bear focuses on fried chicken — fried chicken sandwiches like the Pickledbird Sandi, Nashbird Sandi and the Six Shooter plate are main menu items that are set to stay when the food truck reopens, Bonetti said.

Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options are carefully-crafted by Bonetti to taste as good as original fried chicken recipes.

“I worked on a recipe for my vegan fried chicken where I make a fake chicken breast, and I give it the same kind of dredge, the same fry that we do for a regular fried chicken,” Bonetti said. “You know, vegan cheese, vegan mayo in the slaw, no egg or anything in the bun, just to make sure there’s no questions — and it’s delicious. I mean, I would eat this thing if I couldn’t eat meat and had this fried chicken sandwich, I would be completely content with it.”

Something new to The Grinning Bear menu are recipes “outside of the realm” of a fried chicken food truck, Bonetti said.

One of these dishes is a spaetzle Bolognese. Spaetzle — a type of German egg noodle — literally translates to “little sparrows” in German.

That’s just one example of how Bonetti enjoys a little play on words with his specialty dishes.

While the Sandis are named after his wife Sandy Hixson, the Bolognese pasta is for the “bears” of The Grinning Bear.

“I felt like it was kind of a fun pasta to have on the food trucks instead of just rolling it out and cutting sheets,” Bonetti said. “I feel like if you’re a bear, you’re probably more inclined to eat a bowl full of little sparrows than you are a bowl full of noodles.”

For more information about The Grinning Bear

The Grinning Bear is set to open back up the week of Feb. 24, but specific places and times are still up in the air as Bonetti settles negotiations.

“There’s a couple of spaces I’m working out with,” Bonetti said. “I have one space out here. Don’t necessarily want to say the name yet, because I don’t want to ruin any negotiations. I have a spot in Shell Beach that I’ll probably be set up at, and then there’s locations off of Edna, some wineries out there in SLO.”

For the first time since its opening in 2020, the food truck will also have a website where locations and hours will be specified.

The website thegrinningbearslo.com was expected to go live the week of Feb. 17 with a full schedule, Bonetti said.

The Grinning Bear truck will also be at Shindig Cider’s Valentine’s soirée on Friday from 7 to 11 p.m., Bonetti said.

“I have wheels on this thing for a reason, so I want to make sure that I’m really out there and people get a chance to try it, and I get a chance to meet some new guests,” Bonetti said.

For more information about The Grinning Bear, you can also visit its Instagram page or call 415-573-4768.