Bob Karp
FOOD
General manager Sorena Dadgar along with chefs Chris Lopez and John Kleinert
fine DINING After a year of pop-ups, chefs Chris Lopez and John Kleinert settle into a permanent location by CATHERINE CURRIN
Y
ou might be a member of the cult, anxiously awaiting the next dinner special to be posted on Instagram or refreshing your order page at 4:20 p.m. on a Wednesday. But even if you’re not, you might have heard of Fine Folk and wondered what the heck it was, with those crazy dishes like pickled Pimento cheese or a potato chip, lettuce, and tomato sandwich that
have been popping up all over town over the past year. So for the uninitiated: Fine Folk is the brainchild of chefs Chris Lopez and John Kleinert. It’s the name of the popup food concept with a loyal following that’s sustained them through the pandemic. And after much anticipation, it’s the name of their restaurant, which is opening this fall in Gateway Plaza. Lopez and Kleinert are longtime play-
ers in the Triangle hospitality industry — the two have been cooking in kitchens since their teenage years. Owner and executive chef Lopez helped Sunny Gerhart open St. Roch on S. Wilmington Street. Kleinert spent some time on Ashley Christensen’s culinary team at her chicken joint, Beasley’s. But the two met when they served as executive and sous chefs at downtown Cary’s Postmaster Restaurant and Bar, a minimalThe Art & Soul of Raleigh | 37
