Five of the Cedar Valley's Black food entrepreneurs will hold a venue takeover at the UNI Rialto Dining Center from March 23 to April 3. The event, a collaboration between the Black Capital Study + Projects and UNI John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (JPEC), is open to UNI’s campus and the greater Cedar Valley community. 

This partnership marks a milestone for the university as the first time UNI has collaborated on a venue takeover with local businesses. 

“Working side-by-side with UNI Dining who routinely serves 400-600 campus meals a day, with access to state-of-the-art high-volume kitchen technology, means our participating entrepreneurs get opportunities to execute their most popular recipes at a new scale,” stated Lindi Roelofse, T. Wayne Davis Chair in Entrepreneurship at UNI JPEC. “And if all goes according to plan, each of our showcased food entrepreneurs will also have built new relationships to secure potential future catering contracts.”

The following food entrepreneurs will be featured at Emiliano’s, an all-you-can-eat venue in the Rialto Dining Center from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on each of the following dates. Menu items will include traditional and contemporary dishes inspired by the evolution of African and African-American flavors in North America:

• Thursday, March 23: Pick Up N Go by Tamara Pernell
  On the menu: Crab boil with a homestyle mac and cheese
   
• Friday, March 24: Momma 'Nem Soul Food and Catering by Marketia Moore
  On the menu: Hand-breaded chicken wings, mashed potatoes and gravy, and smokey green beans
   
• Monday, March 27: Tu Wayy Catering by Jadell Mone'
  On the menu: Loaded fries with toppings like hand-breaded chicken tenders and homestyle mac and cheese
   
• Tuesday, March 28: - Dominique’s Seafood by Dominique Wallican
  On the menu: Shrimp and grits, hand-breaded catfish with dirty rice
   
• Monday, April 3: Daniel and Mom’s Kitchen by Teta Toe
  On the menu: Jollof rice and twist donuts

Rialto Dining Center is located on the north side of UNI’s campus, 2003 Campus Street, Cedar Falls, IA 50614. Students can access the dining center via their meal plan; while the cost for lunch for other members of the UNI and Cedar Valley community is $11.25. Credit/Debit cards accepted only, and cash will not be accepted.