- Details
- By Tribal Business News Staff
- Food | Agriculture
Owamni, the James Beard Award-winning restaurant operated by the nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS), will move to the Guthrie Theater’s main floor restaurant space in spring 2026.
Founded in 1963, the Guthrie Theater produces classic and contemporary plays and operates three stages, along with classrooms and public spaces at its downtown Minneapolis facility.
Chef Sean Sherman, founder of Owamni and NATIFS, said the new location along the Mississippi River will double the restaurant’s size and expand its capacity to serve diners while maintaining proximity to St. Anthony Falls, a site of cultural significance to the Dakota people.
“We outgrew our original location almost from the moment we opened,” Sherman said. “The Guthrie space gives us the opportunity to share the space with more diners.”
Sherman noted that the move builds on Owamni’s foundation at the Water Works Pavilion, where the restaurant first opened in partnership with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. He said the Guthrie site will allow NATIFS to continue reconnecting communities with Indigenous food traditions and supporting Native cultural revitalization.
Sherman founded NATIFS in 2017 to address health and economic disparities in Native communities. Its initiatives include the Indigenous Food Lab and Owamni.
