OWAMNI SET TO OPEN NEXT MONTH ON THE SHORES OF THE MISSISSIPPI

Minneapolis’ first Indigenous restaurant is set to open next month on the shores of the Mississippi in Downtown Minneapolis.

Owamni is a new restaurant by The Sioux Chef that will open in July at 425 W River Parkway. The restaurant will occupy space that was at one time home to the popular restaurant Fuji Ya, but more importantly, will open on lands that have been sacred to the Dakota people for centuries.

Dana Thompson and Sean Sherman, the owners of The Sioux Chef, are behind the new restaurant that will be housed in what is a newly constructed space atop the historic foundations of the former Fuji Ya building.

If you’re unfamiliar with the two, not only are they life partners, but Dana is a well-known THE S and CEO while Sean is the James Beard-award winning author of “The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen” cookbook. The two also are behind the NATIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems) and the Indigenous Food Lab which is in the Midtown Global Market.

The site of the new restaurant is particularly important to the Dakota people as it is where the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers converge, a place that the Dakota people refer to as “Mdote.” The lands are sacred to the Dakota people and are surrounded by numerous spiritual sites and gravesites for relatives.

The cuisine at Owamni will bring Indigenous foods to the forefront and will truly help play a key role in changing the way many perceive North American foods.

Expect the menu to be filled with dishes consisting of plants, different meats, and fish. What most dishes will exclude will be ingredients introduced by European settlers with those ingredients including sugar, wheat flour, beef, pork, chicken, and dairy products. A drink menu will consist of several non-alcoholic options including an indigenous tea selection along with several beer and wine options that are sourced from a large selection of BIPOC producers.

During warmer months, the restaurant will serve both lunch and dinner and will offer table service indoors, along with online ordering for outdoor dining and takeout. During the winter months Owamni will shift to a tasting-menu dinner series along with a focus on hosting more holiday events.

The new restaurant will not only offer seating for 88 people indoors, but seating for over 100 on an expansive outdoor rooftop (and fully grassed) patio. All areas of the restaurant, indoor and out, will have pristine views of the Mississippi River along with the Stone Arch Bridge.

The building that Owamni will be housed in is part of the Water Works project, a new riverfront park that recently opened to the public. Don’t worry, we’ll be bringing you an update, with plenty of pictures, on how the project turned out later this week.

Owamni will be located at 425 W River Parkway and is anticipated to open in July.