Former Dishwasher Opens Black-Owned Vegan Eatery in Downtown Chicago

By Rashad Alexander

There’s always that important birthday present everyone has received that they will never forget. On his Nov. 28 birthday this past year, Dame Dia got asked one of the best questions he had ever heard: It was whether he wanted to become the owner of a restaurant where he started out as a dishwasher.

That birthday wish was granted when Dia became the owner of the 218 S. Clark location of Native Foods, a vegan restaurant chain. The now Black-owned establishment is Native Food’s lone Chicago location, with restaurants in Colorado, California and more across the U.S.

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