Honeygrow collaborates with Philly artist Amberella for return of restaurant's stir-fry box

The new Honeygrow stirfry box, designed by Philadelphia street artist Amberella.
Honeygrow/Honeygrow

If you’re a fairly consistent customer at Philadelphia-based fast-casual chain Honeygrow, you may have noticed the stir-fry and salad franchise swapped traditional stir-fry boxes for disposable to-go bowls toward the end of last year.

The shift was met with some not-great responses from the noodle-loving community. Though Honeygrow noted that meal portions were the same whether served in a bowl or box, some customers simply weren’t convinced.


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Now the bowl era is over. Honeygrow announced Monday the chain’s “iconic” stir-fry box will return immediately, its debut coinciding with Honeygrow’s first-ever collaborative artist series.

The returned stir-fry boxes will be adorned with the work of various artists, beginning with work from Amberella, the woman behind Philly’s famous Goth and Power Hearts murals. Emblazoned on the sides of Honeygrow’s new stir-fry box will be one of Amberella’s hearts, “YOU GOT THIS” boldy written on the carton.

“The ‘YOU GOT THIS’ Power Heart felt like the perfect fit for the stir-fry box,” Amberella said in an Q&A on the Honeygrow blog.

“Not only as a literal comment about your delicious Honeygrow in hand, but also as a positive affirmation to walk out the door with you for the rest of the day. I hope that people enjoy this literal pick me up.”


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As the artist collaboration series continues, Honeygrow will tap artists in the chain’s other markets, which includes Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., New York, and several other regions.

“I’ve long admired Amberella’s work on walls, tunnels, and alleys,” said Justin Rosenberg, CEO of Honeygrow, in a statement.

“It’s amazing how her art subtly touches the entire city with simplicity and boldness in both message and design, typically inspired by perseverance.”

Expect to see Amberella’s design at Honeygrow now through the next several months. You can also catch her work (and take a lot of selfies with it) at the Philly Pop Photo Exhibit, starting this weekend through July 8.