25th Anniversary of Native Pride

On Friday July 17th we celebrated the 25th Anniversary of Native Pride with speeches, cake and a ribbon cutting for our newly remodeled diner.

In his speech Native Pride owner, JC Seneca paid tribute to his heritage by announcing the designation of the land where Native Pride is located as Tallchief Territory. The name honors his great, great, great grandfather, Tall Chief, who first lived on this property in the 1700s and actually engaged in peace pipe talks with George Washington. JC acknowledged the success of the travel plaza by talking about the early days of his business, when he sold cigarettes out of a trailer on the corner of the land where Native Pride today exists. He also looked forward to the future in sharing plans of continued diner renovations that will include a new takeout window area, a larger kitchen with a brick pizza oven and a return to catering services, along with an expansion of the overall building and new developments in production of the company’s Tallchief Hemp CBD Products.

Special guests who joined in the 25th Anniversary Celebration were New York State Senator Timothy Kennedy (63rd District), New York State Senator George Borrello (57th District), Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz and Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns who celebrated JC’s success with honorary proclamations. They were joined by JC’s family, friends and Native Pride customers.

Following the ribbon cutting for The Tallchief Diner guests were invited to come inside to view the historic Tallchief/Seneca Family photos that have been installed on the diner walls. As the diner renovations continue, more photos will be added. Cake and refreshments capped off the anniversary celebration followed by performances by Native dancers led by Heath Hill. All in all, a great day on Tallchief Territory, Home of Native Pride.