New concept Patchwork Culinary Project in Ferndale aims to uplift immigrant chefs

The newest project from seasoned Detroit-area chef Nikita Sanches is Patchwork Culinary Project. It's set to open this spring on Hilton just south of I-696 in Ferndale, where the Hilton Road Cafe was located.

What's exciting about this new restaurant is the nonprofit mission behind it. Sanches — who owned and operated applauded restaurant Rock City Eatery in Hamtramck, and later, Midtown — wants his new venture to showcase the talents of immigrant chefs in Metro Detroit and also offer them an avenue for fundraising for their own food businesses.

"We're going to be implementing culinary training for incoming immigrants and folks that are of immigrant decent, first-generation, who are looking to step into the restaurant world. We'll start off small, like getting people their certifications," he said, adding that that way they can get better-paying jobs in the local hospitality industry. Sanches hopes to host monthly dinners featuring different global cuisines that can be an avenue for a burgeoning chef to raise money for their food truck or food trailer, for instance.

On a day-to-day basis, the Patchwork Culinary Project will be a place for folks to grab a meal during the day, like globally-inspired sandwiches and small plates, plus a small market. He's also going to bring in goods from area bakeries and other suppliers.

"It's not going to be a full-blown restaurant. It's going to be more like a deli/gourmet grocery shop where you can buy spice, sauces, you know, random things," he said, adding that he's drawing inspiration from treasured import markets like Al-Haramain in Hamtramck, Mexican markets in southwest Detroit and the many Asian grocery stores in the Madison Heights and Troy area.

"Just kind of highlighting the immigrant culture that we have here that is very rich and showcasing some new things from new cultures that are coming now to give a little bit of introduction to people," said the chef, who was born in Russia and officially became a United States citizen last year.

Sanches said he'll likely serve some of the dishes he's known for, too, like decadent macaroni and cheese and freshly baked pies. His business started as Rock City Pies, a stall inside Ferndale's Rust Belt Market, before branching out into a full-service restaurant Rock City Eatery — he and his future wife, Jessica Imbronone Sanches, even appeared on an episode of CNBC's "Restaurant Startup" in 2015 with the pie biz — so this move back to Ferndale feels a bit like a completed circle.

Sanches has been doing much of the renovating in the space himself, and while the concept and dining room will be completely different from Hilton Road Cafe, much of the kitchen bones are staying the same. Gone are the homemade breads, skillet breakfasts and an overload of chicken-related décor that Hilton Road Cafe was known for during its 15-year run.

He's hoping to open Patchwork Culinary Project in late May or early June with shorter hours at first as things start to ramp up into the full concept.

As for the name, that was inspired by his recent adventure in becoming a U.S. citizen.

"In January 2023 I became a citizen of this glorious country, and at my naturalization ceremony there were over 100 people and the judge presiding over it, he had this beautiful speech and he was saying how he doesn't like the term 'the melting pot' because everyone goes into this one pot, and gets boiled down and comes out the same," said Sanches. "He prefers the analogy of like a quilt, or a patch, where it's one cohesive thing made out of patches of something completely different."

"I was like, OK this is cool, I have to work this somehow into this new project I want to do," he said.

While Patchwork gets the finishing touches on it at 3150 Hilton, Sanches has launched a website, patchworkculinaryproject.org, where those interested in supporting the nonprofit mission can donate or buy merchandise, including T-shirts and spices.

mbaetens@detroitnews.com