BLAC
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Food Dran
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By Ann Duke
Photos © Joe Vaughn / Frame Photo credit: Valaurian Carter Val Waller Photography
It was a typical winter night in Michigan. The local TV stations were focused on the “big” snowstorm that was headed our way. Snowmaggedon 2022? Hardly. We got the snow alright but nowhere near the catastrophe predicted. Those reports didn’t stop our team at BLAC from venturing out for what turned out to be an absolutely amazing culinary experience. FRAME, the brainchild of Super-Couple Joe and Cari Vaughan, is part restaurant, part classroom, and part dinner theater. Joe, a
renowned food photographer, and Cari, a former Condé Nast editor created something truly special in the heart of Hazel Park. A FOOD MAGAZINE YOU EXPERIENCE The couple’s journey started in 2015 when they purchased the building on John R. Street to serve as a studio. The front space of the building became a sort of hang-out spot and eventually morphed into JoeBar. Now known as FRAMEbar, that hang-out spot has become a popular eatery in its own right.
In 2017, the tables turned when Chef Brad Greenhill’s wildly popular Takoi burned down. The Vaughan’s invited their friend to set up a temporary restaurant in their 4,200 square foot space which was equipped with an industrial kitchen. The experiment was a huge success and launched FRAME as we know it today: an incubator and cultural hub celebrating makers of all kinds. FRAME is a safe space for new chefs to experience what it’s like to run their own restaurant without having to incur startBLACdetroit.com • MARCH 2022 • BLAC 45
