GN Chan and Faye Chen
Double Chicken Please | New York
February 2023
GN Chan never thought he would be a bartender. Originally from Taiwan, Chan studied design in college, but when a business deal went wrong, he found work as a street magician. After meeting with a flair bartender, Chan decided to switch career paths and began working at a local bar, where he would meet friend and future business partner, Faye Chen. Bartending proved to be the perfect combination of Chan’s two passions—design and performance—and he was determined to improve his skill set. In 2011, he moved to New York City, eventually landing a job as a busboy at a theater bar. Chan made his way to Angel’s Share, where he learned to make classic cocktails in his own style.
Faye Chen has been in the industry since she was 19, starting off as a server in Taiwan. She, too, was wowed by flair bartending, and began to learn the craft. Chen settled down at a bar specializing in flair bartending alongside Chan, where she learned from her coworkers, many of whom had bartended around the world. In 2014, Chen relocated to Shanghai to help her mentor Shingo Gokan open Speak Low and, after a few years, moved to New York City to join forces with Chan.
In 2017, Chan and Chen embarked on their own journey, hosting their cocktail pop-up at bars around the country. They even took the pop-up mobile, slinging drinks out of a yellow Volkswagen minibus. After searching for the right spot for years, the duo opened Double Chicken Please in November of 2020 in the Lower East Side. Together, they offer mind-bending drinks inspired by popular dishes, bringing a sense of Taiwanese flair and performance.
