Native Foods Owner Wants People To Try Plant-Based Foods
By Tia Carol Jones
Dame Dia has worked in the restaurant industry for 15 years, starting in New York working at Red Lobster as a dishwasher. Now Dia is the owner of the only Native Foods left in Chicago.
Dia had been working at Native Foods as the Chicago District Manager when he was told the Loop location was going to close. He had been working with Native Foods for more than five years. He asked if they would sell him the location at 218 S. Clark. He wanted to help the people in the crew who had been working at the location for a long time. Dia’s wife is Vegetarian so he was further prompted to see the restaurant stay open. Dia was able to retain all of the crew when he took ownership of the Loop location in November 2023.