Chain Turns Its Virgil Village HQ Into a Neon Nostalgia Wonderland With “Holiday House”

If your holiday mood leans more curly fries than caviar, Chain’s next pop-up might be your dream December night out.

The pop-culture dining collective founded by B.J. Novak is teaming up with Medium Rare — the live-event powerhouse behind Shaq’s Fun House, Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Tailgate, and Dave Portnoy’s One Bite Pizza Festival — to debut “Chain Holiday House.” The immersive experience transforms Chain’s Virgil Village headquarters into a multi-sensory playground of food, nostalgia, and festive chaos.

Running Dec. 3–7, with additional weekends to be announced, Holiday House invites guests on a two-hour tasting tour where each room unveils a new dish, drink, and brand collaboration. Tickets start at $75 and include food, drinks, games, and live entertainment — designed to feel, as Chain calls it, “intimate and electric.”

“It’s cozy, it’s kitschy, it’s chaotic in the best possible way,” said Nicholas Kraft, Chain’s Chief Creative Officer. “Chain has always been about celebrating shared nostalgia and a little healthy indulgence — which is what the holidays are all about.”

A Culinary Trip Down Memory Lane

Holiday House builds on the success of ChainFEST, the pop-cuisine festival that drew everyone from Kim Kardashian to Addison Rae, blending chef innovation with pop-brand nostalgia. This time, Chain and Medium Rare have pulled together an even wilder lineup of collaborators: Cracker Barrel, Sonic Drive-In, Red Robin, Pepsi, Kraft Heinz, Kahlúa, Panda Express, Dutch Bros, and Friendly’s.

Each ticket grants guests access to an over-the-top tasting tour that includes:

• Chef collabs with Cracker Barrel, Sonic, and Red Robin — paired with seasoned Arby’s curly fries.
• A Heinz Flavor Workshop offering never-before-released sauces on a DIY potato pancake bar.
• Holiday cocktails and mocktails in the Holidays Deserve Pepsi lounge.
• A Friendly’s x Chain “Sundae Claus”, reviving the Conehead Sundae for a new generation.
• A Kahlúa x Dunkin’® Frozen Espresso Martini topped with Kahlúa-infused MUNCHKINS® Donut Holes (21+).
• A still-under-wraps Panda Express dessert collab.
• Mini holiday pies with Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey shots at the Black Sheep Speakeasy (21+).
• Exclusive Dutch Bros holiday drinks and two cocktails (or mocktails) created with Thunderbolt using Absolut, Jameson, Malibu, and Altos spirits.

Sessions run nightly from 5–7 p.m. (Happy Hour) and 8–10 p.m. (Night Session), each offering its own atmosphere of lights, music, and flavor-fueled nostalgia.

When Pop Cuisine Meets Pop Culture

Medium Rare — known for fusing entertainment, food, and spectacle — brings its signature large-scale polish to the event. “Flavor. Nostalgia. Community — Holiday House brings it all,” said Melanie Hellenga, CMO of Kraft Heinz. “Chains are more than just a place to eat — they’re part of culture. We’re here to up our flavor game and introduce this community to our unreleased Heinz sauces.”

Beyond the tasting tour, the Holiday House Gift Shop features exclusive collaborative merch with Dave & Buster’s, Pizza Hut, Arby’s, and Panda Express, plus a curated selection of vintage memorabilia celebrating chain-restaurant history.

A Feel-Good Feast for the Season

For Novak, the project is about emotion as much as flavor. “The holiday season evokes so many of our most emotional memories,” he said. “And for many of us, that nostalgia is tied to the chains of our childhoods. This is our way of celebrating that — with a modern, in-the-moment spin.”

Part culinary playground, part cultural remix, Holiday House promises to be one of LA’s most joyfully unserious holiday events — where a Cracker Barrel biscuit, a Kahlúa martini, and a Pepsi Christmas tree somehow make perfect sense together.

Tickets go on sale Friday, Nov. 14 at 12 p.m. PT at chainholidayhouse.com.