We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Rohani Foulkes a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Rohani, appreciate you joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard

We are a non traditionally tipped hospitality establishment and have been since 2018.

Rohani, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

A neighborhood go-to for ethically sourced, deliciously driven provisions. Together, we create change, good change, for good
We are a small team, making simple food from good ingredients.
Located in Corktown, Detroit, Folk is a neighborhood market and cafe sourcing and spotlighting minority made goods from fine coffee and pastries to picnic provisions, canned cocktails and bio-dynamic wine. Folk features a casual breakfast and seasonally focused sandwich/salad/bowls menu, espresso bar, booze by the can and wine by the bottle menu. We also offer catering, on-site private events and curate food focused gift boxes!

I left school at the age of 14 to start my chef’s apprenticeship. I spent 4 years training to become a chef and another 10 in restaurants building by skills. When I became a mother I left the industry temporarily and gained two degrees in education and multiculturalism that would help me empower and educate youth in culinary arts and community development. Food has been my life for as long as I can remember. It’s my passion, a central part of my Indigenous background and the one things that grounds me in community where ever I have lived and worked, the world over. When I moved to Detroit, I saw a need. A need to provide good food and drink to the community. Moreover, pay the people growing, making and serving that food fair, equitable, competitive compensation for their valuable work. While the business model has changed from full service and the menu/space looks different to what it once did. Today, our core focus remains the same.

I lost 12 staff in one day when COVID mandates were implemented in Michigan. For two years I have worked tirelessly to not only allow my business to survive but pushed hard to show that in can and would thrive in our hardest moments of business operations. I believe we’ve succeeded in not only doing this but staying committed to our community and our underlying mission to serve that community, grow our team, pay our team well and support other good food and beverage and provisions makers in doing so. I am also proud of myself for being brave enough to recognize my own faults in leadership and be willing to stick around to learn and grow from those mistakes. We are now a team of 10 and thriving!!

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

When I was 19 I fell pregnant. I was a 4th year apprentice chef, just a few months away from completing from my apprenticeship to becoming a fully qualified chef.

Bringing my son into the world changed my life in every way that truly matters. It also created a great deal of barriers to a young, single mother in kitchens at a time when maternity leave, was not a “thing” in kitchens.

Right at the precipice of achieving my life long dream of becoming a chef, I chose motherhood. I left kitchens for a while and instead turned to a more predictable / stable career in education. I got my bachelor’s degree, then my Master’s and taught Culinary Arts to Junior and Senior aged High School students.

Many years later, I would return to kitchens and my one true love (in vocation).

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

In early 2020 I lost my staff, my business as I knew it, a scheduled chef guest event at the James Beard House, a flight home to Australia to see my family and friends, my then business partner and at the time, friend.

At no point did I ever entertain the idea of allowing my business to fail due to any of this. When everything else was lost and gone, It was the only think that kept me tethered to my place, my community, my sense of being — albeit far more lonely.

I’ve since worked, alongside some fantastic individuals to build-up, amidst the pandemic, the small business that Folk is today, friendships, a kinship and network that transcends city, state and national boarders.

I’m proud to say I never gave up and honored to have found everything I have amidst a great deal of loss.

My love of my work and a need to find/feel belonging in a place kept me going.

Contact Info:

• Website: folkdetroit
• Instagram: @folkdetroit

Image Credits
Taylor Higgins