Chef Brendon Edwards: New Restaurant Concept 'In The Works'

Not much has been heard from the elusive chef Brendon Edwards since he departed Antietam in July—just a few short weeks after the restaurant opened. However, this Friday and Saturday the Edwards will host two 7-course dinners at Yemans Street, Hamtramck's newest popup venue.

"It's a labor of love," Edwards says of the event. "I've  been working on how to put everything together for over a month now." The menu, the chef continues, is representative of the food he enjoys making with will have a similar feel to that of Antietam. Many of the ingredients will be sourced from the same places as Antietam with some new additions. Courses will have a rustic Western feel with savory items such as butter poached lobster and venison tenderloin alongside sweeter dishes like coconut cheesecake (see full menu).

"I think Yemans Street is doing something that a lot of chefs want to do which is free themselves from the reigns of the grind of a restaurant and make food that they think is interesting," he says. When Edwards was approached by owners Matt and Corrie Tinker earlier this fall, he felt excited to work with them. "I had a little bit of free time and I put a menu together for them and they really liked it."

But if customers can't make either weekend sitting, know that it may not be long before chef Edwards' food is featured in a restaurant once more. The Edwards says that another restaurant is already in the works. "We have investors [and are] hopefully looking at opening up something at least just as exciting as what Antietam was," he says.

When asked about his abrupt departure from one of the most celebrated restaurants of summer, Edwards admits that Antietam was not what he and fellow staff members had hoped it would be.

"I was really excited about it. I really liked what I was doing there with Joe Robinson and all I really have to say is that things weren't really working out the way both of us had planned and Joe and myself and the staff decided to part ways with the owner. I don't wish Greg Holm any ill will...If he's successful than that's all the better for Detroit."

For more details on chef Edwards' events at Yemans Street click here to visit the website.