Frankly Speaking
Downtown Cincy, you’ve got a new favorite spot for breakfast, lunch, and snacks!
The Frank at CAC led by Steven Graham, owner of Shango’s Urban Taqueria and The Frank Neighborhood Deli & Grill, opens in the Contemporary Art’s Center’s Dr. Stanley & Mickey Kaplan Hall Lobby on Sunday, June 1.
This is the first pop-up restaurant in a new series bringing food offerings back to the CAC’s iconic Zaha Hadid-designed building.
“After partnering with Steven and his team when Shango’s participated in CAC’s Cuisine Art Cocktails fundraiser last fall, we knew we wanted to keep working with Steven in more ways,” says CAC Chief of External Affairs Carolyn Hefner. “Steven breathes life and joy into each space he is in, and we cannot wait to have him bring that spirit into CAC’s Café space for the summer with a new option for breakfast and lunch in the heart of downtown,”
The Frank at CAC will be open Thursday and Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The menu will be an abridged version of The Frank (in Price Hill) menu with morning bites and coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.
“It’s truly a pleasure to collaborate with CAC,” says Steven Graham. “As a former SCPA kid, I’ve had both an affinity for and an appreciation of art in every form. There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about horizon lines, perspective, and negative space when I’m plating food, so partnering with CAC is a natural fit. The menu for The Frank reflects the people we serve, with a focus on scratch-made sandwiches, salads, and soups to serve working people. At CAC, we’re doing a streamlined version of our menu to better accommodate the hustle and bustle of downtown, without compromising what we do.”
The Frank at CAC will be open until July 31. Following The Frank at CAC’s residency, a new restaurant pop-up vendor will then open in the space through CAC’s partnership with Rachel DesRochers and the Gratitude Collective. DesRochers is well-known in the region for founding Power to Pursue women’s empowerment conference, a movement designed to support women in various aspects of life and wellness, as well as being the creator behind The Gratitude Collective, Grateful Grahams, the Incubator Kitchen Collective, The Good People Festival, Head to Heart Mentorship, and the In Gratitude podcast.
“We're fortunate to have such a strong community of makers in this region and this partnership is another step of building opportunities for exposure and access to these food entrepreneurs. I am so excited to pour into this iconic Cincinnati building and grateful to lean-in to our mission of building community in a new way with the CAC,” says DesRochers.
The application process through The Gratitude Collective is now open to vendors for residency opportunities. The Gratitude Collective residency will provide pop-up vendors with mentorship, community engagement, and a network of support to operate within CAC’s Café.