INDIANAPOLIS — Inside of a black shipping container at The Amp Food Hall on Indy's west side, you'll find The Food Architect.
Corey McDaniel started the natural drink and sea moss bar in 2014.
"Your body is made up of 102 minerals; sea moss is made up of 92 of them," McDaniel said. "So when you put that into your body, it kind of changes how your body responds. It's like having a perfect meal with no waste."
McDaniel's health journey started at a young age.
"I had a thyroid disease that I developed at 12. After that, I started to kind of understand the correlation between food and health," he said.
The former college football player and personal trainer has led an active lifestyle. He's now a vegan chef.
"Being in Jamaica for about 40 days doing a cooking assignment is when I ran across Irish moss, started to learn what it did to your body," McDaniel said.
It was after that trip that he decided to incorporate sea moss in his cooking.
"I understood that it was a big thing that would do well in our community," he said.
For several years McDaniel sold his products online, but in 2021 he opened his location at The AMP. The opportunity is helping him reach a larger demographic.
"I've been plant based for almost about eight years now," customer Quintin Ross said. "So the food, the drinks, everything works. It's works out perfectly in regards to what I need for my journey."
The AMP is located on Indy's west side just off Indiana Avenue at the 16 Tech Innovation District. It's located in the former service bay of the Indianapolis Water Company.
Officials say 100% of the businesses are local and 65% are minority owned or led.
For McDaniel, the location is special.
"My family is from the west side, been in Haughville 70-80 years," he said. "Classically, it's kind of been underserved. So this gave me a chance to really kind of helped bring something healthy to a community that really needed it."
