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Restaurant neighboring White House advocates for immigrants

Immigrant Food from chef Enrique Limardo uses food to promote multiculturalism

Joanna Fantozzi, Senior Editor

November 13, 2019

3 Min Read
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Irena Stein Photography

Cofounders_Peter,_Enrique_and_Ezequiel2___phot.cred__Irena_Stein_for_Immigrant_Food.jpgThere’s a new restaurant with a strong mission just a block from the White House — 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C.. The fast-casual restaurant’s name — Immigrant Food — gets right to the point.

For the restaurant’s co-founders Peter Schechter, Ezequiel Vázquez-Ger, and Enrique Limardo, the restaurant is a “gastro-advocacy” platform for promoting and preserving the rights of immigrants.

“Just a block from the White House, Immigrant Food's fresh, creative dishes reflect how we see America at its core: diverse, nourishing and welcoming,” chef Limardo told Restaurant Hospitality by email.

“This is our small contribution to the fight against a new intolerance in America.”

Once largely separate from the world of political turmoil and social upheaval, the restaurant industry is becoming less of a neutral haven, as many chef and business owner activists use their restaurants as political platforms and embrace their role as change makers. 

At Immigrant Food, guests will be able to taste fast-casual lunch and dinner bowls that fuse different cultures: a Vietnamese spicy-rice noodle dish with pickled bananas combines culinary traditions of Central America, Germany, and Vietnam. Another bowl fuses cuisines from two of Washington, D.C.’s largest immigrant communities with Ethiopian spiced lentils topped with vegetables and loroco flowers from El Salvador.

Related:Restaurants train and recruit the formerly incarcerated

Their menu also includes a “Fusion Mylks” drinks menu with fusion dairy-free milk drinks featuring ingredients like Southeast Asian dragon fruit and coconut “mylk,” Mexican flavors like guajillo pepper, and North and Central African ingredients like black sesame.

Even the design of the restaurant is meant to evoke global togetherness. Their dining room seating mimics different table cultures from immigrant groups around the world, and a world map is the design centerpiece of the restaurant.

Immigrant Food’s founders walks the walk on their mission. They hire immigrants and partner with five local nonprofits that they call “impact partners,” which include organizations like the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights coalition. They plan to use the restaurant space to host events, workshops and legal clinics for these nonprofit organizations, and their menu of fast-casual bowls represents cultural diversity.

They will also publish a monthly online magazine called “The Think Table,” which will go in-depth into specific immigration issues with data and research.

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“Restaurants have always been a place where immigrants have gone to make a living, created community and showed off the cuisine of their heritage,” chef Limardo said.

Related:Restaurateurs realize their role as change makers

 “In so many restaurants in America's metropolitan areas, immigrants are the cooks, servers, bussers and cleaners. Without them, there would be no restaurants. Immigrants are also the workers who plant, pick, package, transport and prepare the food restaurants serve. Immigrants feed America.”

But just because their activist restaurant is right down the block from the White House, it does not mean that the Immigrant Food vision is merely a response to the current presidential administration’s immigration comments and policies:

“Immigrant Food is one of the few things in Washington that’s not about Mr. Trump,” chef Limardo said. “We’re in a period in the States where suddenly one of the most basic things about being an American is suddenly in doubt. America's story is the story of immigrants. That's a value proposition, not a partisan talking point.”

The average entrée price at Immigrant Food is $13 and the restaurant is 2,400 square feet.

Contact Joanna Fantozzi at [email protected] 

Follow her on Twitter: @joannafantozzi

About the Author

Joanna Fantozzi

Senior Editor

Joanna Fantozzi is a Senior Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. She has more than seven years of experience writing about the restaurant and hospitality industry. Her editorial coverage ranges from profiles of independent restaurants around the country to breaking news and insights into some of the biggest brands in food and beverage, including Starbucks, Domino’s, and Papa John’s.  

Joanna holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and creative writing from The College of New Jersey and a master’s degree in arts and culture journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Prior to joining Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group in 2018, she was a freelance food, culture, and lifestyle writer, and has previously held editorial positions at Insider (formerly known as Business Insider) and The Daily Meal. Joanna’s work can also be found in The New York Times, Forbes, Vice, The New York Daily News, and Parents Magazine. 

Her areas of expertise include restaurant industry news, restaurant operator solutions and innovations, and political/cultural issues.

Joanna Fantozzi has been a moderator and event facilitator at both Informa’s MUFSO and Restaurants Rise industry events. 

Joanna Fantozzi’s experience:

Senior Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (August 2021-present)

Associate Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (July 2019-August 2021)

Assistant Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (Oct. 2018-July 2019)

Freelance Food & Lifestyle Reporter (Feb. 2018-Oct. 2018)

Food & Lifestyle Reporter, Insider (June 2017-Feb. 2018)

News Editor, The Daily Meal (Jan. 2014- June 2017)

Staff Reporter, Straus News (Jan. 2013-Dec. 2013)

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