(This story has been updated.)
It's been more than 10 years since Brad Greenhill built a following through a Corktown food truck and pop-up dinners that eventually would lead to Takoi, a stand-alone restaurant in trendy Corktown.
Now Greenhill is marking his 2014 beginnings with a series of dining events to celebrate his journey from the days when he was hosting dinners in apple orchards and in bakeries to owning one the hottest Detroit restaurants.
It's a journey marked by many changes at Takoi, in Greenhill’s personal life and the industry, namely the pandemic, in general.
“The idea that we were turning 10 seemed like a good opportunity to line all these things (dinner and special events up),” Greenhill said.
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Over the years, Greenhill has pivoted many times, including navigating the pandemic. He endured criticism for the restaurant's original name and rebuilt Takoi after a devastating fire to the restaurant's bar and dining areas. He also opened and closed Magnet, a restaurant in Core City that only used wood fire for cooking, started a farm and opened Spiedo, a Mediterranean fare restaurant in Ann Arbor.
And he started a family with partner Noelle Stull. The couple has two daughters, Margot, 5, and Izzie (Isabelle), 3.
Engineering not in the cardsGreenhill said he predominately grew up in Columbus, Ohio, and studied engineering at the University of Michigan while working in the food business during college. By his senior year, Greenhill said, he had an epiphany that he was not going to medical school or into the engineering field.
“I had a degree in engineering and was interviewing for these jobs that were not me and I wanted to explore creative realms,” he said.
And so, he dove headfirst into cooking, music and graphic design, though he never considered cooking as a long-term career.
"But I was good at it … and ultimately a buddy of mine called me to be his sous chef at a restaurant in North Boston’s Little Italy.”
After two years in Boston working long days, a burned-out Greenhill thought about wanting again to do music and graphic design.
He moved back to Ann Arbor and started a graphic design company while also doing music promotion again. But he missed cooking and started doing pop-up dinners in an apple orchard and serving multicourse meals out of a bakery.
The pop-ups were an entry point for Greenhill to get exposure and get noticed.
Cooking by curiosityGreenhill’s curiosity also set his cooking path. Thai cuisine, Greenhill said, came by accident as he combined a myriad of flavors such as anchovy with honey to add sweetness and lemon juice to bring out acid.As Greenhill explored more, it was a natural draw to that style of cooking and “creating the balance between the umami and salt and the spice and acidity and sweetness, which is very integral to Thai cuisine.”
At Takoi, Greenhill's ethos remains with everything made from scratch and with seasonality in mind.“No, we don't need to buy bacon," he said. "We'll make our own bacon. We'll butcher our own pigs. It’s that mentality, so much, comes from just my curiosity as a cook, like I want to learn how to do everything, from start to finish. And even the style of food we do here (at Takoi) which came from exploring and curiosity."
Marking 10 yearsOver the years, Greenhill has endured ups and downs and said he just keeps “trudging on” and “marching forward.”On Feb. 17, 2017, Takoi's bar and dining room was gutted by a fire. The fire appeared to have been allegedly set by burglars stealing liquor, according to reports. Greenhill was on a research trip to Thailand at the time of the fire.A week earlier, the restaurant, then called Katoi, landed at No. 1 on the Detroit Free Press/Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers Best New Restaurants list.Days before the fire, the restaurant was named a James Beard Award semifinalist in the Best New Restaurant category.
Vowing to “rise from the ashes” per a Free Press story, the restaurant underwent repairs and renovations. The restaurant reopened in late August, six months after the fire.
And yet, Greenhill faced another criticism. That same August, the Corktown restaurant's original name, Katoi, came under fire for allegedly being a form of the Thai word Kathoey, an offensive slur to Thai transgender people, “who are more accepted in that country than elsewhere, but still face social and political stigmatization,” according to a Free Press report.Responding to criticism, the restaurant's name changed to Takoi.
Farm-to-tableIt’s the fifth season for HiO farm, which was started by Greenhill and Stull on about an acre and a half of land a few miles from Takoi. The farm gets its name from Greenhill’s daughter Margot, who would say “Hi Oh” when she said hi.
“It (the farm) was originally an idea hatched to have a farm that fed Magnet and Takoi,” Greenhill said.
The farm enables the restaurant to “specialize in what we grow to our needs or our desires,” Greenhill said, and have produce readily available and "as fresh as it can be."
Greenhill said Corktown used to be a hot neighborhood but cooled off.
“Now it is kind of again because of the train station,” he said. “And so, it's kind of been on this little bit of a roller coaster, but the whole time, it's continued to develop.”What’s on the horizon? Greenhill said he makes it up as he goes along. He hopes to continue to innovate and pass the torch to the next group of young chefs.“I can cook forever,” he said. "But in a restaurant capacity, how long can I, or do I want to do that, right?”For now, Greenhill will celebrate Takoi’s successes with others through the Takoi Turns Ten Tour of regional events.For information, visit takoidetroit.com/10-year-tour.
Contact Detroit Free Press food and restaurant writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news and tips to: [email protected]. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter. Subscribe to the Free Press.acegame