The women behind two award-winning restaurants Marrow and Folk are teaming up on a new restaurant and wine bar project called Mink, the Detroit Free Press reports. The restaurant is set to fill the Farmer’s Hand space at the corner of Bagley and Trumbull this fall.

Founded in September 2016 by Kiki Louya and Rohani Foulkes, Eater Award-winning market is scheduled to close in its current space at the end of July. It’s expected to reemerge sometime within the next two to three years in a larger space near the current building.

The 20-seat restaurant Mink will take its place with a wine program developed by Ping Ho, owner of the Royce and Marrow, and menu with appetizer-style dishes like oysters, tartare, and peel-and-eat shrimp. Marrow sous chef and Takoi alum Cameron Rolka will be heading up the kitchen. The restaurant is expected to open around September.

Independently, Louya, Foulkes, Ho, and Marrow chef Sarah Welch have been recognized for their efforts to improve working conditions for employees in the Detroit restaurant industry. Their partnership seems like a step towards furthering that effort. As part of the partnership the women are creating a new women-owned group called Backbone Hospitality that will oversee their collection of restaurants and create a unified system for hiring, training, and paying staff.

Stay tuned for more updates as the projects move forward.

• Operators of 2 of Detroit’s Best Restaurants Joining Forces for New Venture [Freep]
• How the Farmer’s Hand Fosters Community in a Tiny Corktown Market [ED]
• West Village Charmer Marrow Celebrates the Unsung Butcher Shop Cuts [ED]
• Detroit’s 2018 Eater Awards Winners [ED]