By Jessica Koslow
Starbird CEO Aaron Noveshen measures his success in more than dollars and cents. For the Los Angeles native, true pros-perity means helping people improve their lives.
“For me, it is first and foremost about giving opportunities to people with jobs, with growth, with education,” he said.
That economic boost is continuing. With the recent additions Starbird’s Pleasanton and Palo Alto locations, the chain founded in Sunnyvale now operates 16 restaurants in California. Starbird recently inked a seven-unit franchise development agreement in Colorado and is eyeing additional deals in Utah, Arizona and Washington by the end of 2025.
“The reception is nothing short of miraculous,” said Noveshen, calling from his Bay Area home. “The sales per square foot in our average unit is upward of $2,000, two to three times what typical restaurants experience. We are fortunate to be growing while so many others in the industry are struggling.”
Noveshen has loved cooking since he was young. He remembers standing on a stool at age 3, directing his older sister on how to make macaroni and cheese — “Don’t put so much milk in it. You’re watering it down!” — because he did not like the way she made it.
His mother died when he was in high school, and he became the family cook. Upon graduating high school at age 17, he spent 10 weeks backpacking through Europe with his best friend. The food and cultures of the world inspired him and so did the Bay Area, where he attended the University of California, Berkeley. Noveshen was in awe of the area, the home of Chez Panisse and the birthplace of California cuisine, which held a great respect for ingredients.
“I was exposed to so many types of cuisines and cultures in the Bay Area,” Noveshen stated. “I also traveled and visited as many countries as I could. Food was a great way to get to know people and gather and talk about things and share.”
He chalked that up to his parents, who also attended the University of California, Berkeley.
“Both of my parents were teachers,” Noveshen said. “They embraced curiosity and exploration and doing things you were passionate about.”
In college, Noveshen ran a catering business, A Votre Maison: Intimate Home Dining, cooking for professors in his department.
After he graduated from Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, he returned to Los Angeles and learned the French culinary technique at L’Orangerie. Within less than a year he was training culinary school graduates who came through the restaurant’s doors.
His next move was back to the Bay Area, where at age 25 he landed the role of executive chef at Le Scene in the Warwick hotel and then went to work as a chef de cuisine at Alain Rondelli.
In the mid-’90s, Noveshen shifted his focus to the business side of the food service industry. He co-founded World Wrapps and thought about democratizing quality, scale and innovation. He launched the culinary consulting company The Culinary Edge in 2002 and the first Pacific Catch restaurant in 2003, now with 15 locations.
The menu at Starbird is aimed at healthy and nutritional dishes that taste great. (Starbird/Submitted)
Every day at The Culinary Edge, he helped companies like Jamba Juice, Panda Restaurant Group and Starbucks. For his next project, Noveshen wanted to create a brand to “walk the talk”.
He and his team analyzed the marketplace to see where opportunities existed and came up with six ideas, which were then narrowed down to two. When the team presented these ideas to investors, they all gravitated toward chicken. Starbird was hatched.
“I am searching for a win-win all the time and the way that I can be most effective,” he stated.
Like most chicken establishments, Starbird is not based, started in, or inspired by the South. As Noveshen explained, Starbird is driven by ingredients.
Noveshen has taken the knowledge, wisdom, and experience he has gained from every kitchen in which he has worked and every business he has run. Throughout, he assembled a recipe for his brand’s success.
Starbird aimed toward healthy dishes. The fresh, crispy chicken is not treated with antibiotics. The pieces are individually hand-breaded in the secret blend of gluten-free flour and spices.
Starbird thrives in innovation and recently launched a Cali Gold BBQ LTO. Taking the traditional flavors of Carolina Gold BBQ sauce and turning it “California.” The Cali Gold BBQ bacon sandwich features crispy chicken, barbecue seasoning, crispy bacon, mayo, classic slaw, dill pickles, Cali Gold BBQ Sauce, and a soft round bun.
Similarly, the Cali Gold BBQ salad has grape tomato, cucumber, corn, bacon, Cali Gold BBQ Sauce, BBQ seasoning, green onions, avocado mash, and Greek yogurt ranch on a bed of Romaine blend.
The Cali Gold BBQ also covers bone-in and boneless wings.
Besides providing top-quality dishes, Noveshen aims for true hospitality. These qualities highlight, perhaps, Noveshen’s greatest gift: giving opportunities.
Noveshen’s business worldview rests on simple mottos: You cannot save your way to prosperity. Sales cure all ills. If you take care of your staff, they will take care of the customers.
Although he conceded that, ultimately, everything is a business decision, and the cost of turnover is extremely high, he emphasized the importance of empowering and supporting team members.
“Education can help you better yourself to make better decisions,” he said.
“We are big on investing in our team members whether they stay in the industry or not. They will be a better contributor. That is a win. The more people we can impact, mostly through employees, the more things will hopefully get better in communities and society.”
He relayed a story about a recent encounter with a female employee in the Walnut Creek location. The woman shared that she loved her manager and how much the customers loved the restaurant. She was making decent money and felt good coming to work every day.
“There is nothing more you want to hear than that when you talk to a person in your company,” he said with a smile.
“That gets me excited. The money and success will come if people are that fired up about the company. I think, ‘What does the upward spiral look like? How will it manifest?’”
Starbird employee perks include tuition reimbursement, language learning and a technology stipend. The Marina del Rey location, the most successful of its LA-area restaurants, has donated more than 3,500 meals in conjunction with GiftAMeal to the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. More than 350 meals went to educators during Teacher Appreciation Week.
Starbird employees have created fundraising partnerships with local schools and Beach Clean Up partnerships with the South Bay Boardriders Club in Hermosa Beach.
“I grew up as the kid of teachers,” he said.
“I was pushed in a baby stroller in the ’60s to peace marches. I have a progressive background. I appreciate the democracy that we have. People can start from nothing and actually become something. I appreciate our freedoms, and I do not take them for granted. I want to nurture that in people.”
Starbird
13161 Mindanao Way, Marina del Rey
424-216-6024
starbirdchicken.com
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