Now in its 10th year, Chicago Black Restaurant Week kicked off Sunday and runs until Feb. 23 with more than 40 Black-owned eateries offering special meals during Black History Month.
This year, three vegan restaurants are participating: The Black Vegan in Little Village, Your Organic Inner G in Ashburn and Native Foods in the Loop.
But there are many more Black-owned vegan and vegan-friendly eateries in the Chicago area. Last year, Chicago food blogger Tamika Price listed 15 restaurants on her blog Plant-based Tamika; that’s about double the number since she started tracking in 2019, she said.
Appetite for vegan and vegetarian food is expanding among Black communities as health awareness grows and food options become more diverse and appealing.
When Lauran Smith founded Chicago Black Restaurant Week in 2015 there were no vegan restaurants on the list. Now, “more and more people look to change their diets completely, and would still like to experience amazing flavor while they make their transition to vegan and vegetarian options,” Smith said.
There are also holistic and ethical reasons for the shift toward plant-based eating in Chicago and across the U.S. For example, RZA, a founder of hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, has been vegan since 2000 and is a prominent advocate of veganism and animal welfare — and is vocal about the philosophical reasons for not consuming animal products.
Sparkle Le’Star, founder of The Black Vegan, became a bigger fan of RZA after learning he is vegan. “It was confirmation that I wasn’t crazy or alone in this beautiful journey,” she said.
The Black Vegan
Le’Star opened The Black Vegan in 2020 at 2300 S. Kedzie Ave. She was born and raised on Chicago’s West Side and “never naturally gravitated toward vegetables.” But in 2018, she decided to try plant-based eating for 30 days. She was surprised when she felt a dramatic physical, mental and emotional shift within a month.
“My stress, anxiety and depression eased. My body felt lighter, stronger. But the biggest change? My heart,” Le’Star said. “I began to care more — not just for my own well-being but for others, for animals, for the world around me. I went from living in my own bubble to volunteering at animal shelters, gently escorting bugs out of my home instead of killing them.”
Le’Star said the vegan “movement is only growing — especially among the youth. It’s like each new generation is getting wiser and more in tune with what their bodies need.” She added, “One minute, people are totally against it, and the next, they’re diving headfirst into the plant-based life.”
When designing The Black Vegan’s menu, “the key was fun and familiarity,” she said, with offerings such as wings, ribs, Italian beef, burgers and shrimp made from ingredients like oyster and lion’s mane mushrooms, tofu and banana blossom.
She sought to veganize “culturally Black” dishes, “the real, nostalgic, straight-from-childhood favorites that every Black omnivore grew up on, such as mac and cheese and greens.”
The restaurant also has holiday specials like plant-based chitterlings. “As much as I hated them growing up, I can’t deny their place in Black food history,” she said. “And guess what? People were thrilled to get that nostalgic taste without the smell or the pork.”
Customer favorites include portabella wings made of crispy, “sauced-up” mushrooms; banana blossom “catfish;” and the “290 Burger” made with plant-based Italian beef, priced at $16. It’s named for the I-290 that runs through the West Side.
Le’Star’s goal isn’t just to sell food but to “help people. To guide them toward health and healing in a way that felt exciting, not restrictive.”
Her customers are diverse, ranging from someone “with baggy clothes, looking like the type society has unfairly been taught to fear. And next thing you know, they’re breaking down the benefits of holistic healing, herbal remedies and plant-based living,” Le’Star said. “On the flip side, we’ve got elders in walkers making the switch and embracing a whole new way of eating.”
Your Organic Inner G
Rena Parks opened Your Organic Inner G, a plant-based salad and juice bar, in February 2024. Parks was previously an executive chef with food services company Sodexo. She struggled with inexplicable reactions to foods like cheese, butter and soy.
Doctors prescribed inhalers for symptoms such as her throat closing up, but her health problems persisted. Then she began eliminating certain foods from her diet and her health improved. Parks realized her body had been reacting badly to specific ingredients. That fueled the launch of Your Organic Inner G, “where people with dietary restrictions or those simply seeking healthier options can enjoy flavorful, nourishing meals without worry,” Parks said.
She said many African Americans face high rates of diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure and other health conditions, often related to diet. Parks wanted to change that through “plant-based meals that heal the body and uplift the spirit.”
Interest in veganism grew during the pandemic. “We realized that much of our food was heavily processed, tainted with bio-engineered ingredients and lacking real nourishment. That awakening led more people to start paying closer attention to their health and the quality of their food,” Parks said.
Your Organic Inner G at 8259 S. Kedzie Ave., doesn’t use processed foods. Everything is made from scratch except for the bread, for now, Parks said.
One customer favorite is jerk grilled cheese for $12.50 made with lion’s mane mushrooms and house-made cheese. For Black History Month, the “Soul Bowl” features cornbread, sautéed greens, sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas and bourbon barbecue trumpet mushrooms, topped with a wedge of fried green tomato.
Native Foods
Native Foods launched in 1994 in Palm Springs, California, and grew to a nationwide chain. But due to the pandemic, Native Foods closed all of its locations except in Chicago, Palm Springs and Glendale, Colorado, where employees were offered ownership.
In 2023, Dame Dia became an owner of Native Food’s last Midwest restaurant. Dia, originally from Dakar, Senegal, had started working at Native Foods in 2018.
Native Foods, 218 S. Clark St., offers items such as bean chili and shrimp rolls made of konjac, a root vegetable. But its “Taste of Senegal” sampler for $21.95 has been especially popular. It features vegan mafe (peanut butter tomato stew with plant-based beef, as well as carrots, Brussels sprouts and sweet potatoes); Yassa Chick’n (plant-based chick’n with caramelized onions, lime, and bell peppers); and Jollof rice (West African-seasoned jasmine rice with sautéed cabbage, sweet bell peppers, carrots and sweet potatoes).
“The demand for plant-based options in the Black community has grown significantly in recent years,” said OnJaLee LaShay, director of marketing. “More people are learning about the health benefits of a plant-based diet, especially in combating conditions like hypertension and diabetes that disproportionately affect us.”
LaShay, who is married to Dia, said many Black customers are excited about plant-based meals that reflect their tastes and culture.
“We can help break the stigma around plant-based eating and inspire more people to explore healthier food choices,” LaShay said. “We want to show that eating well doesn’t mean giving up the flavors and traditions we love — it means reimagining them in a way that nourishes our bodies and honors our culture.”
