By Natalia Otero
When Bird & Co. opened its doors in Portland, Maine, in 2019, it did so quietly, almost modestly. There was no sprawling menu, no grand opening spectacle—just ten carefully executed tacos, fresh tortillas, margaritas, and a clear sense of purpose. Seven years later, that clarity remains at the heart of the restaurant’s identity, even as the business has expanded into catering, large-scale events, food trucks, and now, a national retail product.
At the center of it all is Wills Dowd, founder, general manager, and director of operations, by his own description, the “boss boy.” At 37, Dowd carries the perspective of someone who has grown alongside his restaurant, learning when to push, when to adapt, and, perhaps most important, when to let go. He has two additional partners, Jared Dinsmore, with whom he also owns another restaurant, and chef Pat Guerrette. And always by his side is his wife, Emily Dowd, who oversees catering production.
“We opened Bird & Company seven years ago with six people,” Dowd recalls. “I was the head chef, bar manager, weekend bartender, everything. Slowly, we grew. Now we’re a full-time team of about 45 people in the winter, and with catering, over 100 in the summer.”
On-the-Job Training
Dowd never went to culinary school. His education came early and hands-on, beginning at 15 in a local market and later continuing through restaurant jobs while attending college in Florida. After college, he moved to Los Angeles, where his relationship with Mexican cuisine—and culture—deeply formed.
“I lived in Northeast L.A., near Pasadena, in a majority Hispanic, Mexican neighborhood,” he says. “I worked in Mexican restaurants downtown and fell in love with the flavors, the people, everything about it. My best friends were Mexican. My neighbors, the cooks, the families, the abuelas took me in as their own, even though I’m not Mexican.”
That sense of belonging stayed with him when he returned to Portland, Maine, in 2017. While the city had a strong food scene, Dowd felt something was missing.
“Southern California–style Mexican food wasn’t really represented here, at least not the parts I loved most,” he explains. “I knew the kitchen would be small, so I couldn’t do a big menu. I thought, what’s my favorite thing? Tacos. So I said, I’m going to do ten tacos, but do them really well. That was the concept—a taco bar.”
Bird & Co. was never meant to be a replica of Los Angeles street food. Dowd understood early on that adaptation was key.
“I knew I couldn’t open a traditional L.A. taco spot here,” he says. “So I adapted it to what I knew people in this neighborhood would like.”
That balance between honoring inspiration and listening to the local audience shows up throughout the menu. Flour tortillas, preferred by Portland diners, are made in-house. Fried chicken tacos became a favorite. Seasonal lobster tacos reflect Maine's coastal identity. Over time, the menu expanded carefully, but always with restraint.
“We still don’t have burritos, nachos, or tamales,” Dowd laughs. “Just loaded fries, elotes, churros, Choco Tacos, chicken wings. If I change the menu too much, people will chase me out of town.”
The restaurant’s growth has been organic, but its most creative evolution came during the uncertainty of the pandemic. Bird & Co. opened just a year before COVID-19 and initially didn’t even offer takeout.
“When COVID hit, we had zero takeout. It was bad,” Dowd admits. “We couldn’t seat people inside.”
What followed, however, reshaped the business. Live outdoor energy, private events, and eventually food trucks became a lifeline. A close friend—now the director of catering—helped envision a new path: Mexican weddings, large-scale private events, and mobile hospitality done well.
Bird & Co.'s food truck is often used to cater weddings.
“That food truck changed everything,” Dowd says, explaining that catering and events account for roughly 40 percent of Bird & Co.’s summer revenue. “Now we do about 70 weddings a year—sometimes two every Saturday. Full bar, taco bar, margarita station. We can easily serve 300 people.”
The creativity doesn’t stop at service style. It extends deeply into how Dowd thinks about ingredients, systems, and sustainability.
“There’s no magic answer,” he says of growth. “It’s hard work, consistency, trusting the right people, and taking care of every single detail.”
Money Matters
Dowd is candid about the financial realities of running a restaurant.
“You don’t make money from guests or portion size alone,” he explains. “You make money on how you spend. Cash flow management is everything. You can have great chefs and great food, but if you don’t control spending, it doesn’t work.”
Letting go of control was one of his biggest challenges.
“It was hard to hire managers and trust them,” he admits. “But if you try to do everything yourself, you only do everything 25 percent well.”
Letting go of control gave him something invaluable: a bit more freedom.
“I don’t make the guacamole anymore,” he says with a smile. “The first person in makes it. Now I can spend time with my wife, come in later on slow days, jump in where I’m needed. I can choose when to chop onions or cut chicken.”
A symbolic moment marked the restaurant’s transition to success: the purchase of a 1972 food truck.
“When I bought that old truck in cash, I felt a weight lift off my chest,” Dowd says. “It was like, alright, you did it.”
Next Step: A Retail Product
Now, Bird & Co. is preparing for its next chapter. For the first time, the brand is entering the national retail market with a product born directly from Dowd’s obsession with flavor.
“On April 1, we’re launching a taco oil nationwide,” he reveals. “It’s a burning-hot taco oil infused with chipotle, garlic, avocado, and red chiles. It turns your taco red. Taco night starts in the pan—flavor starts in the pan.”
A second version, infused with jalapeño and lime, will offer a green counterpart. The oils will be available online and through Amazon, marking Bird & Co.’s first step beyond the restaurant world.
“I wanted people to have better tacos at home,” Dowd says. “We tested garlic oil, but it tasted too Italian. So we leaned into chipotle, guajillo, árbol to make it unmistakably Mexican.”
At its core, Bird & Co. remains what it has always been: a creative ecosystem rooted in community, hospitality, and thoughtful execution. Whether through a taco bar, a wedding event, a vintage food truck, or a bottle of infused oil, Dowd’s philosophy stays consistent: build with intention, adapt with care, and never stop refining the details.
In an industry that often chases trends, Bird & Co. stands as a reminder that creativity isn’t about doing more, it’s about doing things well, and knowing why you’re doing them in the first place.
Sidebar: Why the Name “Bird & Co.”?
The name began with Down's fascination with pico de gallo (salsa fresca). They first thought of naming the restaurant “Pico” or “Gallo.” That didn't sound right to them, so they said “Bird,” but Bird was too generic, and they wanted to elevate it a bit. In the end, they added Co, as in “company.” He wasn’t sure about the name, but they were about to open the restaurant and needed to get all the legal documents ready, so they left it as Bird and Co. Now he recognizes that it's a memorable name.