Soul food restaurant Nafsi 1916 opening at South Shore Cultural Center

CHICAGO (WLS) -- There was a ribbon cutting Wednesday afternoon for a new restaurant celebrating Black culture and cuisine on the city's South Side.

Nafsi 1916 will serve what the owners call "elevated soul food."

Located inside the South Shore Cultural Center at 7059 S. South Shore Dr., the restaurant's opening has historic significance. A gem in Chicago's South Shore that was once a white's only country club now hosts a new Black-owned restaurant.

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The restaurant will be in a facility that is now run by the Chicago Park District.

Nafsi is Swahili for soul. Soul food is at the heart of the renovated space and enclosed patio on the edge of Lake Michigan.

"Being a Southsider from South Shore, I wanted to bring some soul back to a space that once wouldn't allow us to be here, so we are bringing some elevated soul food here to South Shore," Nafsi owner Donnell Digby said.

South Shore Cultural Center has hosted events in its ballroom, theatre and solarium since the park district took over in 1975. The restaurant space the had been closed since COVID now begins a new chapter.

"This is historic," South Shore Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tonya Trice said. "Everyone wants to be able to walk to their local restaurant to have lunch or a glass of wine with dinner."

The South Shore Chamber of Commerce estimates residents spent $29 million annually outside the neighborhood on food and drink. Nafsi's owner and others in the community hope this anchor in an historic spot, and other projects in the pipeline, will encourage more business and restaurateurs to consider South Shore.

"This is an opportunity to attract people into the South Shore community this is an opportunity for residents to spend money within the South Shore community," Trice said.

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"Every other corridor has large amounts of restaurants, outdoor space," Digby said. "We need more where we live."

Nafsi opens to the public for dinner service on Friday.