“Let Your Soul Shine” at the New Vegan Campus Eatery, Sundrip

A refuge of warmth and life in the brutal Chicago winter, Sundrip is nearly impossible to miss as you walk past the small restaurant located on the northern border of the University of Chicago campus. Its floral walls, cozy hammock chairs, and green neon signs telling passersby to “Let your soul shine,” stand out amidst the snow banks on East 55th Street.

Sundrip, one of the newest restaurants in Hyde Park, gives the Hyde Park community a welcoming space for vegan meals, juices, and health foods. Inside, you can find sweet–and healthy–juice samples, pieces of art from local Black artists, and a constantly-rotating small menu of plant-based and gluten-free whole foods prepared fresh daily.

Sundrip first opened its doors to the Hyde Park community in July 2023, three years after co-founder Jeremy Jones opened his first location in Fulton Market. Jones and his CEO–and mother, Carole Jones, first got into vegan whole foods over 13 years ago, after Carole lost her husband to colon cancer. In 2009, she co-founded Chicago Raw, a vegan cafe in River North, which then gave her, Jeremy, and his wife Kaitlyn an opportunity to start their own family business.

Since 2020, the Jones family has been pioneering Sundrip as a Black-owned, sustainable, and community-oriented mainstay for healthy foods. And, to ensure everyone can enjoy their vegan whole foods, the restaurant offers a loyalty program and annual membership programs with flat discounts as high as 25%.

Sundrip’s Hyde Park location at 1109 E. 55th St, offers a scaled-down version of the flagship Fulton Park location’s menu, but Sundrip constantly rotates its abridged offerings to ensure customers always have something new to try. At the time of this article’s writing, the menu’s permanent items–gluten free pastas, smoothies, smoothie bowls, juice cleanses, and other healthy drinks–are being paired with seasonal fruit bowls and hearty dishes like Moroccan lentil or Tuscan white bean soup.

Sometimes found working behind the counter is Weléla Mar Kindred, the creative director of Sundrip and of a local art group, LVMB Collective. joined Sundrip to help the business find its voice and loves working to create a “diverse and safe space, focused on wellness and community interaction.” On the walls and alongside other local artists’ works are two of Weléla’s tapestries, each sewn and crafted completely by hand. Weléla’s work is part of a personal artistic mission to spread messages of body positivity and self love, which she cites as crucial in elevating Sundrip from a restaurant to a positive community space.

“The goal is not to only offer food but to activate this space with art, sound, and light, which creates an experience that people appreciate,” Weléla  said.

Sundrip’s employees own equity in the family business and see themselves as a connective tissue in the community, providing hospitality and healthy food in an area of Chicago known for its food deserts. Jones partners with local artists and invites others to use his eatery as a complimentary event venue in an effort to craft a tight-knit community around Sundrip and cement its role as an integral part of Hyde Park.

The Sundrip team is especially excited for an upcoming DJ residency for local musician DJ Kin Solo. Weléla invites everyone in the Hyde Park community to “come inside and vibe out” to weekly live music sets from the local artist. Information on these weekly sets and on all future events can be found on Sundrip’s Instagram account, @SundripLife.

Sundrip also proudly advertises itself as a sustainable business. It boasts sustainable sourcing, compostable coffee cups, recycled plastic packaging, and food preparation practices that minimize food waste. Additionally, many of Sundrip’s entrees include noodles made of kelp, a crop renowned for its formidable ability to sequester carbon from the oceans, which helps fight against the effects of climate change and ocean acidification. 

Sundrip is open every weekday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.