Bumblebirds (another term for bee), opens March 14 in partnership with D.C.’s Sunnyside Restaurant Group, known for We, The Pizza.
This page contains a video which is being blocked by your ad blocker.
In order to view the video you must disable your ad blocker.
Celebrity chef Carla Hall opens new fried chicken restaurant in Capitol Hill
A new chapter begins for celebrity chef Carla Hall, with a Southern restaurant soon to open in D.C.’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Hall is known for many things: her appearances on TV shows like “Top Chef,” “Holiday Baking Championship” and “The Chew”; her cookbooks; a children’s book; and now, Bumblebirds.
Bumblebirds, another term for bees, opens Saturday in partnership with D.C.’s Sunnyside Restaurant Group, which also is known for spots like Good Stuff Eatery, Santa Rosa Taqueria and We, The Pizza.
“You think about how majestic bees are and how they come together as a community to create something so sweet and so delicious by using nature,” Hall told WTOP. “So, that is the idea of this place. We want people to come here and find joy.”
The restaurant is considered a “pop-in,” meaning it’s not necessarily as temporary as a pop-up. Depending on the success, Hall said it could remain for good.
The last restaurant Hall headed was Southern Kitchen in Brooklyn, New York, which closed in 2017 after about a year of operation.
Hall said she hopes this new venture with Sunnyside’s Micheline and Catherine Mendelsohn stays for the long term.
“I never thought I would do another restaurant,” she said. “And when I was speaking to Micheline and Catherine, they had this concept, and I said, ‘Yeah, I would love to come in with you.’ … It really takes trust, and I trust Micheline and Catherine.”
Guests at Bumblebirds can choose between fried chicken and grilled chicken sandwiches such as “The OG Bumble,” topped with black pepper ranch slaw, cheese and pickles.
“The Blue & Buffalo” features celery leaf slaw with creamy blue cheese, and fried chicken slathered in a spicy buffalo sauce.
The restaurant also offers a Southern sharing board with homemade biscuits and pimento cheese, pepper jam, meat and pickled vegetable toppings.
Heading the Southern-inspired cocktail menu is D.C.-based mixologist and activist Andra “AJ” Johnson, formerly of Serenata in Union Market’s La Cosecha food hall.
There’s also a nonalcoholic iced tea and lemonade bar with flavors such as hibiscus flower, pink strawberry and honey rosemary.
Hall said the restaurant is anchored by recipes inspired by her grandmother, “the culinary matriarch of my family.”
She told WTOP that her grandmother had a garden, so she wanted her dishes to be balanced with tangy, spicy and pickled flavors.
“My grandmother, she didn’t really call it putting textures together, but she always put together something raw and fresh and pickle-y with something rich. And that’s how my food is,” Hall said.
What’s next for Hall is a one-woman show, “Please Underestimate Me,” which premieres in June at the Olney Theatre in Olney, Maryland. She also has another cookbook set to release in September.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.