ChainFest 2024 brings gourmet food and stars to downtown Los Angeles

ChainFest, a festival for fans of chain restaurants, brought thousands of foodies and several celebrities to the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, Oct. 5.

The event took place in the parking lot of Skylight Row DTLA, a mixed-use center on Alameda Street, and had a county fair atmosphere.

For tickets starting at $99, attendees got to sample special foods created with more than a dozen partners, from mall food court standbys to casual sit-down restaurants.

Among the exclusives were Hot Dog on a Stick’s Elote Dog and Domino’s Bougie Emergency Pizza, which was pizza crust spread with mascarpone then topped with smoked salmon and caviar.

Guests also got to partake in experiences such as Red Robin’s human claw, in which participants were given helmets, strapped in a harness and dangled over a foam rubber-filled box to bob for prizes.

And mascots in costume were walking the grounds, including the Noid, a character created for Domino’s commercials in the 1980s.

B.J. Novak of “The Office” fame was also working the crowd, fist-bumping, posing for selfies and taking his own panoramic photo of the festival grounds.

ChainFest is an offshoot of Chain, a celebrity-driven enterprise whose founders include Novak; Tim Hollingworth, former chef de cuisine of the French Laundry, the famous bistro near Napa; and Nicholas Kraft, co-producer of Novak’s 2022 film “Vengeance.”

In an interview at ChainFest’s VIP tent, Kraft described Chain as a “secret event space” that serves elevated versions of restaurant chain food at pop-up events for 200-300 people at a time. He said ChainFest can reach 10,000 foodies at a time.

“It’s such joy to see this thing that we love resonates so strongly with thousands of people — that joy of chain culture and that shared nostalgia,” he said in a visit to the VIP tent, after chatting with representatives from Cracker Barrel and Panda Express on a stage near the human claw. He also appeared with Chain partner Chrissy Teigen, who he said told him she wanted to redo her wedding with John Legend with a Cracker Barrel theme.

Chain was founded in 2022 and put on its first ChainFest last year with six or seven partners and about half the attendees as Saturday’s event. ChainFest made its East Coast debut on Sept. 21 at Randall’s Island Park in New York City.

Chain seems to be making inroads with the brands it celebrates. The staff of Hot Dog on a Stick and Johnny Rockets were energized by working with Chain, according to Taylor Fischer, vice president of marketing for parent company Fat Brands.

And McDonald’s secretly introduced its upcoming Chicken Big Mac at Chain on Sept. 27. The sandwich will go on sale Thursday, Oct. 10.

“We got the chance to secretly work with McDonald’s,” said Kraft. “The news had leaked that they would be bringing the Chicken Big Mac to America. We had the great opportunity to have a little fun with them and secretly serve the Chicken Big Mac to guests without them knowing. People loved it.”

For ChainFest, Panda Express served its Hot Ones Blazing Bourbon Chicken, available in restaurants, with an exclusive side called Sweet & Sour Chili Crunch Oyster Mushroom. Red Robbin offered a Jalapeño Heatwave Burger and Triple Pickle Onion Rings. Cracker Barrel served a Country Fried Steak ‘n Gravy Biscuitwich.

Brand’s other brands included KFC, serving chicken tenders; Krispy Kreme, serving glazed and maple doughnuts; Dutch Bros, serving a Truly Golden Eagle Cold Brew; Johnny Rocket’s, serving a Cosmic Cherry Cheesecake Shake; and Portillo’s, serving a Haute Dog.

Chains outside of Southern California included White Castle, serving sliders with a special Castle Crave Sauce; and New York’s Caffe Panna, serving  ice cream.

Guests in the VIP tent got to sample mac and cheese from Koo Koo Roo, a Los Angeles chicken chain that went out of business and is making a comeback, and chicken sandwiches made with cheddar biscuits from Red Lobster.

Cocktails priced from $18 were available throughout the festival grounds. Among them were Malibu Rum drinks from a tiki hut by Trader Vic’s and Red Robin Frytinis made with Absolut Pepper Vodka, sun-dred tomato and salt water.

Celebrities include Khloé and Kim Kardashian, Seth Rogan, John Mayer and Andy Cohen. Some of them walked a red carpet along with Red, the Red Robin mascot.