What happens when you bring together people form all walks of life; serve them real, home-cooked, locally grown, hearty food get rid of the TVs and put down the smartphones; and encourage people to make genuine conversation?
That is the question Rhonda Pearcy asked herself in 2016 when she founded Fork Real Café. Originally a catering business, Pearcy moved to a nonprofit restaurant model in September 2017 in the basement of the Fairmont Creamery Building. In November last year, Fork Real moved to a newer, permanent location in the heart of downtown Rapid City on the main level of a building, making the restaurant more accessible to patrons.
Fork Real is conveniently located at 324 Joseph St., which Pearcy said reels in customers from all walks of life. They also continue to cater, which Pearcy calls “the cheapest and most brilliant marketing we can do.”
“We are across from the Courthouse, so we have lawyers who come in, we have police who come in,” she said. “We also have homeless who come in and eat, and then we have all the in-betweens, just families struggling from day to day as well as families coming in wanting to enjoy a really good meal. We’re about real people from all walks of life, and real food.”