Chicagoans love their meat. Whether it's thick-cut steak, hot dogs or dripping Italian beef, locals are loyal to the cow. So what happens when you take away our beloved bovine and replace it with substitutes like seitan and tempeh? If you ask Andrea McGinty and her husband Daniel Dolan, co-owners of just-opened Native Foods Cafe, they will bet that Chicagoans will be just as excited about their vegan-friendly alternatives.
Native Foods Café, which opened its first Chicago location in Wicker Park, serves freshly made and organic-plant based dishes. Menu items, all of which are under $10, range from the expected salads to riffs on meat-based dishes like Greek gyros made with seitan and a Scorpion burger with house-made tempeh and topped with chipotle sauce, avocado, carrot and onion. (Native Foods swears that it’s the only restaurant chain in the U.S. to make its own tempeh.) All dishes are made fresh daily and are the creation of Chef Tanya Petrovna, who founded the fast casual vegan eatery back in 1994 in Palm Springs.
McGinty, the woman behind the popular "It’s Just Lunch" dating service, was not vegan when she first stumbled upon Native Foods Cafe 11 years ago while looking for a place to lunch during a trip to California. One bite of the Scorpion Burger upon the manager’s recommendation, and she was sold. She recalls the food being so good that she returned several times that week with family and friends.
McGinty and Dolan joined forces with Chef Tanya in 2009 and have helped the business grow ever since. Native Foods Café has expanded from what was once one quirky restaurant, or as McGinty recalled, “you needed a treasure map to find this place it was so hidden,” to a national chain. Today, Native Foods Café has expanded to seven other locales in Southern California and they have plans to expand to Oregon, Colorado, Washington, D.C. and Boston in the near future. By year’s end, they will have at least 15 locations open. In addition to the Wicker Park location, another Native Food’s outpost is slated to open in Lakeview on Aug. 30 with a Loop location to follow shortly after on Oct 4.
(Scroll down for photos from the Wicker Park location)While the menu may be similar at each location (with the exception of the Chicago-only Dip Au Jus and local beers from Two Brothers, Bell’s and Metropolitan Brewery), the interior varies at each outpost. In Wicker Park, you’ll find reclaimed wood from a house that was torn down in the neighborhood, a locally sourced rock wall and a “Starving Artists” semi-private room that features the works of local, undiscovered artists from Wicker Park. When the Lakeview location opens, there will be “Apothecary Lockers” with rare spices from around the world and you can expect custom-made footsteps with Zen sayings leading to the order counter at the Loop location when it opens. These local touches, along with charity-focused Native Community Days, are important ways, McGinty said, for Native Foods to give back to the community.
So, with the abundance of steakhouses and burger bars in the city, can a low-cost vegan joint be sustainable in Chicago? McGinty thinks so. “Number one, we have great food,” she said. “Number two, everything is under $10 on the menu. You feel like you’re eating healthy and doing something good for your body and the planet.”
Holladay Allen, who works in the marketing department at Native Foods Café, said that she’s been hitting the streets in Wicker Park getting to know the restaurant's neighbors. “One overwhelming response has been, ‘We really have been waiting for a healthy option in the neighborhood that’s affordable,’ so I definitely think there’s a big need for that out there. People really want that.”
The Wicker Park location of Native Foods Cafe (1484 N Milwaukee Ave, 773-489-8480) is already open. The Lakeview location (1023 W Belmont Ave, 773-549-4904) will follow on Aug. 30 and then the Loop location (218 S Clark St, 312-332-6332) on Oct. 4.
