The patter of African drums echoes through the grand foyer as dozens of young Black women huddle, chat and laugh beneath the space’s crystal chandeliers.
The chandeliers are a reminder of the Mediterranean resort-style building’s past, when men in straw boaters and women with parasols could enjoy the South Shore Country Club’s tennis courts, horse riding, ballroom dancing, trap shooting or perhaps just a quiet contemplation of Lake Michigan.
But only if you were white and not Jewish.
The Girls Like Me Project event held last week on the property’s grounds, aimed at empowering African American youth between the ages of 11 and 17, is a reminder of South Shore’s present and hoped-for future — as is Nafsi 1916, the first Black-owned fine dining restaurant in the history of what is now called the South Shore Cultural Center, located at 7059 S. South Shore Dr.
Donnell Digby, the restaurant’s charismatic owner, is happy to talk about the building’s past (the country club first opened in 1906) and the fact that he wouldn’t have been allowed in — well, perhaps to clean or cut the grass.
“If that,” he said.
But he’d rather talk about his chef.
“You won’t believe what he’s doing with the food,” Digby says, leading a visitor into the kitchen, where Executive Chef Dondee Robinson is sprinkling chopped parsley onto half a dozen char-broiled oysters bubbling in creole garlic butter.
Digby, who also owns The Woodlawn (1200 E. 79th), describes the menu as “soulful.” It includes a Southern take on the Italian Caprese salad, featuring plump fried green tomatoes, with a balsamic reduction drizzle. Among the entrees: catfish with a bouillabaisse bechamel sauce, pan-seared Atlantic salmon with a honey sesame glaze, and an Angus beef flank steak with garlic truffle frites and a kale chimichurri.
The restaurant’s name, Nafsi, is Swahili for “soul” and “1916″ refers to the year when the country club’s original 1906 clubhouse was replaced with the far grander resort-style buildings seen today.
The Nafsi interior is airy and minimalist — in part by design, but also because of the constraints of working in a landmarked building.
“So we did our best to bring vibrancy, nuances and light to the space,” Digby says.
During its elitist heyday, the country club hosted everyone from President William Taft to European royalty. Guests also included Jean Harlow, Will Rogers and Amelia Earhart. More recently, the Obamas held their wedding reception there.
As the makeup of the neighborhood changed — eventually becoming predominantly African American — membership at the country club dwindled. The Chicago Park District bought the facility in 1975 and planned to demolish the buildings. A coalition of mostly South Shore residents spent five years fighting the plan.
“The president of (the country club) board … made an infamous statement that Black people who were coming into the neighborhood didn’t need anything but a field house and some basketball courts,” said Carol Adams, a retired university professor and South Shore activist.
The facility reopened in 1985 as a cultural center. Even so, it remains under used, says Adams.
“What I’d like to see is a lot more cultural activity .. because it’s such a beautiful space,” she said. “It’s almost become more of a venue than a cultural center for the community.”
Tonya Trice, executive director of the South Shore Chamber of Commerce, said Nafsi’s arrival couldn’t have come at a better time.
“This is probably the first upscale restaurant we’ve had in a very long time,” she said. “This is an opportunity for us to attract people from different parts of Chicago. … . This is an opportunity (to capitalize) on the expected tourism by the (under-construction) Obama Presidential Center.”
NAFSI officially opened Oct. 11. For information, visit nafsisouthshorebeach.com.
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