Your first look at Fine Folk, one of Raleigh’s most anticipated new restaurants
Finally, Fine Folk has a home of its own.
The long-awaited Raleigh restaurant opens this week in the Gateway Plaza shopping center, next door to its former residency space, the bakery Union Special.
Fine Folk is the creation of chef and owner Chris Lopez, meant to be a casual restaurant with a little something for everyone, packing a menu with nostalgia and adventure.
“It’s pretty gnarly,” Lopez said of finally opening the doors.
Fine Folk was born out of the early days of the pandemic, when Lopez and John Kleinart built a smashburger-shaped life raft to help keep the Cary restaurant Postmaster going. That project, called Gov’t Cheeseburger, specialized in irreverent takes on fast food classics.
Gov’t Cheeseburger eventually moved out of Postmaster, spending time at the Raleigh cocktail bar Foundation, before morphing into Fine Folk and settling into Union Special for a while.
Fine Folk was essentially couch-surfing for two years and Lopez said that placelessness was fun for a while, but quickly became breathless and frustrating. He said it’s good to be home.
The restaurant was built in the former BREW Coffee Bar at 2409 Crabtree Blvd., Suite 100 in Raleigh.
“It makes you appreciate where we’re at now,” Lopez said. “While being super grateful, it would be lying if I said it wasn’t a pain to set up a restaurant and then break it down every single night. It’s awesome to finally have your own space. It definitely feels weird being home again in a permanent spot.”
The dining room at Fine Folk seems unstuck in time, like a mid-century diner halfway to the Hamptons, but serving a menu that includes steak frites and a Caesar wedge salad, but also has vegan options and is entirely free of nuts.
Lopez said the dining room is based on well-loved spaces, but free to be it’s own thing, tapping into the transportive potential of what a meal can be, even if it’s unclear whether diners are traveling to a time or place or maybe just a state of mind.
“I’ve said before, it’s the high end hole-in-the-wall,” Lopez said. “It’s a vibe of old school Irish pub, old school diner and your weird uncle’s living room.....I’ve never been able to vocalize super well what I was envisioning (Fine Folk to be). You have to come and see it.”
The opening menu includes favorites and specials from Fine Folk’s residency, featuring dishes that may sound familiar but certainly update the classics.
There are starters and snacks like fried tortellini and spinach and artichoke dip and a beet Waldorf salad (and good luck not ordering the “Big Ass Bowl o’ Fries”). Larger plates include a marriage of two famous salads, a Caesar done up like a wedge, a corned pork chop, a vegan mushroom Stroganoff and the double-pattied Gov’t Cheeseburger, still crooning along.
Desserts are from pastry chef Maria Luna, head baker at nearby Union Special and married to Lopez. The opening sweets menu includes a brown butter flan, an ambrosia trifle and Black Forest Cake.
On the beverage side, look for a fun and offbeat wine list, with selections by GM Sorena Dadgar, including natural and orange wines. The cocktail list includes a bubbly Venetian spritz on draft, and straightforward classics that diners may want to revisit, including the Appletini.
The dining room seats 70, and eventually Fine Folk will add a lunch service. Its days of service are also a little off-kilter, with Fine Folk open Thursday through Monday and closed Tuesday and Wednesday in an aim to give diners more Monday options.
Lopez has been creating dishes for years, but with the opening of his first restaurant, said he’s excited to launch Fine Folk on his terms.
“The whole thing is kind of crazy,” Lopez said. “You’re never really done growing, you’re never done learning.”
This story was originally published April 15, 2022 at 11:46 AM.
