Restaurateur Ana Sofia Lopes

Restaurateur Ana Sofia Lopes

Guest host Janice Helena Goncalves Da Silva is talking to Sofia about growing up Lisbon, Portugal and how her parents always made sure she stayed connected to her Cape Verdean roots.

From a career in beauty to opening her first restaurant on the very street where her father also owned a business, Sofia is on a mission to unite people, especially the African diaspora through food.

“My dad was an entrepreneur. He worked in the construction. He was one of the first entrepreneur, Cape Verdeans in the late 80s and 90s…He never was ashamed of nothing. He was always straight [posture] and he walked straight. I remember I would be in some of this meetings, me a child always, because I was always around my dad. He would speak with engineers and everything, straight, not curving or anything [his tone], so he always teach me that, that you can do whatever you want, representing Cape Verde,” shares Sofia of her late father.

She is passionate about who she is and the space she has creating for everyone at Sofia’s Place which she opened in 2022, two years after she secured the space due to the pandemic. When asked about the future of one of Lisbon’s favorite spots, she says, “The plans for Sofia’s Place without saying much is, you guys are going to hear more, there’s more things to do. Sophia’s Place will evolve to more things. We will have Sofia’s Place 2 as well, and we will definitely to other things bigger. And I am not talking even about myself, but bigger than ourselves. That we can bring the diaspora together.”

She is putting out a call for a movement and shares more about what this movement is during this episode.

Be sure to listen and then follow Sofia’s Place on Instagram for upcoming Diaspora Food Friday dinners and other events.

This episode is also available in Portuguese.