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PROVO -- Bleu Adams and Jovanna Mason had a dream- to bring their Navajo and Hidatsa/Mandan culture to the public. That dream is becoming a reality with the opening of the Black Sheep Cafe on March 10th.
Bleu and Jovanna are sisters that grew up with a rich and diverse heritage. Their parents attended BYU, and the girls were born in Provo.
However, most of their childhood was spent on different reservations in the Navajo nation in Window Rock, Ariz. and the Hidatsa/Mandan nation in Fort Berthold, N.D.
"There is not a lot of employment opportunities on the reservation," said Adams. "But my mom was an excellent cook so we started selling breakfast burritos. We would sell those at the Tribal Administration building."
Their next business endeavor revolved around doing food booths, and they took these "Navajo taco stands" across the country. This ended with the sisters settling in Utah County where they did a stand at the local Farmers Market for three years.
"This is where we started to gain our following," said Adams. "I really did my research, and started looking at places in downtown Provo."
We just want to be seen. We want people to get to understand Native culture. It's alive and well.
–- Bleu Adams, Black Sheep Cafe
Finally, when the timing was right, Adams and Mason purchased a building off University Avenue and Center St.
"We paid for everything out of pocket, and I laid the business plans myself, and we have done our own renovations," said Adams. "This was the year to open. Navajo culture is more apparent in clothing styles with the logos and feathers right now. It was the right time."
The restaurant is a family business with Adams and Mason as joint-owners, and their brother, Mark Daniel Mason as the head chef. Mark has been a line cook at the Italian restaurant, Marcellinos, for the past year and a half in Scottsdale, Ariz. Mark will cook an entourage of authentic Navajo dishes and some with indigenous influence at the Black Sheep Cafe- all made from scratch and cooked to order.
However, the Adams and Mason family isn't just using food to introduce their culture to Utah Valley. The restaurant will also include a gift shop where their father and mother will display and sell their own pottery and silversmith jewelery.
"My dad has been a silversmith for over 40 years," said Adams. "He uses all natural stones and high quality silver. He is known by his brand, the Winston Mason Design." The family will offer lessons on pottery making and silversmith craftsmanship.
"We just want to be seen," said Adams. "We want people to get to understand Native culture. It's alive and well."
As part of this effort, the Black Sheep Cafe is going to create venues for other Native American chefs. Lectures and events will be held to revive cultural heritage of cuisine and arts.
The cafe will also hold a nostalgic, but contemporary Native appeal with the gourd and blown-glass chandelier, and rustic hardwood floors.
"We kept the floor rustic on purpose," said Adams. "I spent time at my grandma's hogan on the reservation, and this is the same floor as my grandma's." A hogan is a building structure where Navajo's traditionally dwell.
The Black Sheep Cafe will have a soft opening beginning Saturday, Feb. 11th, but they are eagerly anticipating their grand opening on March 10th.
"You'd be surprised at what it takes [to open a restaurant,]" Adams said, "But this is an homage from where we started from."
