‘Since we opened, I’ve approached (the dealers) as human beings. I’ve given them nourishing food.’

Joe Black, 38, at the counter of LiFE Restaurant on West Madison Street in West Garfield Park. Over Labor Day weekend, a car crashed into the front of the restaurant after the driver was shot and fatally wounded — by a man he was trying to run over. Black, who grew up in the neighborhood and as a child lived in an apartment above the restaurant, opened LiFE to provide healthy meal options in an area “full of fast food and barbecue spots.” (Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times)

Since 2017, West Garfield Park native Joe Black and his wife, Tonya, have owned LiFE Restaurant on West Madison Street. Tonya cooks up a menu from recipes she created. No pork, no red meat, nothing fried. Joe takes orders, a process that almost always seems to involve greeting customers by name and starting a conversation that often turns into a motivational speech.

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