photograph by michael donahue
Tom Hughes, executive chef (left) and Christopher Robbins (right).
The late Humphrey Folk Jr.’s “folly” turned out to be the opposite. It turned out to be Folk’s wisdom. Folk was the founder of Folk’s Folly Prime Steakhouse, an iconic East Memphis restaurant. Asked where “folly” came from, his son, Chris Folk, says, “His friends told him if it didn’t work, it’s going to be a folly.”
Now, “seven renovations later,” the restaurant that opened in 1977 with just 81 seats now has “300 plus” seats. Diners sit at the tables and bar to celebrate anniversaries, birthdays, and “deals that shape the city,” Chris says. “Dad used to say success came down to one thing. It’s all about the people that gather around the table, and Folk’s Folly is still popular with generations of families.”
In addition to Chris, the owners now include his brothers, Tripp, Michael, and Carey Folk, and operating partners Lauren Robinson, Ashley Robilio, and Samantha Dean.
photograph by michael donahue
Waitress Corinne Dennis
With its subdued lighting, black walls dotted with memorabilia, white tablecloths, and a Steinway grand piano in the bar, Folk’s Folly has that perfect steakhouse decor and ambience. The restaurant includes several dining rooms as well as individual rooms with curtains that can be closed for privacy.
Framed autographs from notable customers hang on the walls. These include Robert Duvall, Charlie Rich, Sam Phillips, Priscilla Presley, and Archie Manning, says general manager Diane Kauker, who began working at the restaurant in 1984.
“Dad was in the heavy construction business through Memphis and Arkansas all the way down to Louisiana,” Chris says, “and wherever he worked, he was always in search of a good steak. So he had this idea to open a great steakhouse in Memphis.”
What Humphrey desired was “a place where family and friends could feel at home. His dream began to shape when he was driving home one night and noticed this small house on South Mendenhall. That’s where it all started.”
The house had been the home of a seamstress, Chris recalls. “Dad talked to her and got her to sell it.”
“Dad built a place where stories are told one table at a time. It’s familiar. It’s comfortable. And it’s home.” — Chris Folk
It was exactly what he wanted. “Dad always imagined a small house where anyone could feel welcome — where they would come in straight from a job, even with dirty boots, and have a great steak and strong drink.”
His father got to work transforming the building into an inviting restaurant. “With no restaurant experience and plenty of friends telling him not to do it, Dad went all in with the idea.”
His personal touches have endured. Humphrey put in the fish tanks. Paintings by the artist LeRoy Neiman still hang on walls. He went to Ruth Fertel, the owner of Chris’ Steakhouse in New Orleans, for advice, “and they hit it off,” Kauker says. Humphrey even brought some of Fertel’s chefs to Memphis to teach his staff how to broil the steaks.
“Success grew as the restaurant grew,” Chris says. Folk’s Folly added their Prime Cut Shoppe in 1989, allowing customers to buy meat and cook their own dinners at home. This began with the “prime packs” of steaks Humphrey sent as gifts to his clients in the construction industry, Kauker says.
Humphrey, who died in 2006, ran Folk’s Folly until 2003 when he brought in Thomas Boggs — well-known here as co-founder of the Huey’s restaurants and drummer for the 1960s Box Tops band — as his operating partner.
PHOTOGRAPH BY KATHY MCLELLAN
Mr. Donahue, of course.
“We put systems in place that we were already using at our other restaurants,” says Robinson, who, along with Robilio and Dean, are Boggs’ daughters. “We started working on what we could do to elevate the service. It was already good, but we wanted better communication with the staff about how we could best serve the guests and provide outstanding food at the same time.”
It’s no surprise that steaks are still the star at Folk’s Folly. In a 2025 interview in the Memphis Flyer, Folk’s Folly executive chef Tom Hughes said, “There are four ingredients to our steaks: salt, pepper, the steak, and then clarified butter that we squirt on the hot plates.” Over the years, the restaurant has offered several types of steaks, including bison, wild boar, and elk, Hughes said.
Regardless of what’s ordered, “We like the plates to come out sizzling hot,” Chris adds. “We hand-cut our filet mignons, New York strips, and rib-eyes six days a week. Every day that beef is ground fresh. That’s also what we use to form our half-pound burgers,” which are served in the bar on weekends.
Folk’s Folly has evolved into more than a place to get great prime beef. “Dad built more than just a restaurant,” Chris says. “He built a place where stories are told one table at a time.”
And, he says, “It’s familiar. It’s comfortable. And it’s home.”
Folk’s Folly Prime Steak House, 551 S. Mendenhall Road
