“Hey, everyone! Come and see how good I look.” Thus spake the iconic Ron Burgundy. That role was played by Will Ferrell — along with so many other gems. In his career, he’s played a semi-professional basketball player, the aforementioned anchorman, a murderous fashion-designer, George W. Bush, and even an Olympic ice skater.
There’s no denying that Ferrell is beloved by all, but perhaps none so much as the intrepid few individuals who decided to open a series of pop-up restaurants in his honor. The newest of among them will debut in Boston on April 14th and fans of Ferrell will get to see how good he looks. Great Odin’s raven!
In the fall of 2015, friends Brian Link and Zach Neil decided to open Stay Classy New York, a reference to Ron Burgundy’s famous sign-off “Stay Classy, San Diego”. This was the first time the world experienced a restaurant based on the popular comic actor. At that time, Neil explained the concept to the New York Post. “It’s all about the celebration of his work, his movies and the stuff we love about the guy.”
The second Stay Class popped-up in Los Angeles in December of 2016. Just like the first restaurant, this one lasted for ten glorious days. Customers were treated to cocktails like Whale’s Vagina, Smelly Pirate Hooker, and Big Foot’s Dick. Since it was December, the space also hosted Elf-themed dance parties. Even though the star of Old School himself doesn’t have any stake in these pop-ups, the duo has been donating some profits to Ferrell’s charity Cancer For College at every stop. Son of a nutcracker that’s nice.
According to Neil, the pair have saved the best pop-up for Beantown (because it has more cowbell?). “Boston is going to be so much better,” Neil told Metro. “We ended up being a 12-month run [in NYC] because it went really well, but the problem was, we wanted to offer more than just drinks. We wanted tapas and small bites, but the space wasn’t able to accommodate. And L.A. was really cool, but it was the same situation — just drinks.”
Stay Classy Boston will take place at Umbria and will be the biggest venue yet with room for 300 people. On top of the cocktails fans of the pop-ups have grown to expect, this version will also serve food inspired by Ferrell’s films, including a burger called Ma’s Meatloaf (a reference to Ferrell’s cameo in The Wedding Crashers). There will also be a KVWN Channel 4 news replica set so Ron Burgundy fans can enjoy a glass of “Scotchy-Scotch-Scotch” while they pose as their favorite newsman. They even plan to have a Ron Burgundy impersonator (because obviously those exist).
If you’re lucky enough to visit this pop-up, you definitely won’t find yourself in a glass case of emotions, but you can probably have yourself a pretty nice little Saturday. Just remember to bring your green hat because we’re going streaking after.
