Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Williams.
Hi Lauren, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve always loved food and storytelling. At 20, I was running a restaurant review blog and exploring Dallas neighborhood by neighborhood. But after being diagnosed with gluten intolerance, eating out stopped feeling like discovery and started feeling like negotiation.
Family gatherings, restaurants, celebrations — every experience came with the same impossible choice: compromise my health just to participate, or sit at the table feeling disconnected from the moment everyone else was sharing. I had to relearn how to eat, how to cook, and eventually how to teach the people around me what “safe” actually meant.
What stood out most to me wasn’t just the dietary restriction itself — it was realizing how often people with food restrictions are excluded from the emotional and cultural experience surrounding food.
In 2023, I founded Incloodie Food Tours in Dallas: a culturally immersive, dietary-inclusive food tour experience built around local restaurants, neighborhood storytelling, and hospitality that doesn’t treat restricted eaters like an afterthought.
What began as a personal solution quickly evolved into something much bigger. Today, Incloodie serves guests from around the world and corporate clients including Adobe and NTT DATA. Incloodie and I have been featured in Voyage Dallas, Bold Journey, and Telemundo, and am working toward becoming a global leader in cultural hospitality and inclusive travel experiences.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No, it hasn’t been a smooth road, but as we’ve grown, I’m proud to say we’ve worked through a lot of the operational challenges that come with growth, such as hiring, improving our marketing systems, processes, and making sure both our guests and team continue having a great experience as we grow.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Incloodie Food Tour?
Incloodie Food Tours is a cultural hospitality company based in Dallas that creates immersive food and history experiences designed to make people feel genuinely included in the places they visit. We guide guests through some of Dallas’ most culturally rich neighborhoods, partnering with local and family-owned restaurants while sharing the stories, history, architecture, and traditions that shaped them.
What really sets us apart is that we were built from the perspective of someone who understands what it feels like to be excluded from food experiences. Dietary restrictions are often treated like an inconvenience in hospitality, but for us, inclusion is part of the design from the very beginning. We specialize in creating experiences where guests with dietary restrictions can still fully participate in the cultural and emotional experience surrounding food, and not feel othered.
Over time, Incloodie has evolved into something much bigger than a traditional food tour. We work with international travelers, corporations, locals rediscovering their own city, and people who simply want a more meaningful way to experience Dallas. Every tour is intentionally designed to feel personal, educational, and community-centered rather than transactional.
Brand-wise, I’m most proud that Incloodie has been able to grow while staying deeply connected to its values. We’ve built strong relationships with local restaurant owners, created opportunities to spotlight neighborhoods and stories that are often overlooked in tourism, and developed a brand that people associate with warmth, curiosity, culture, and trust.
I want readers to know that Incloodie isn’t just about eating good food (because we definitely will, but we also allow our guests to experience the city differently. We want people to leave our tours feeling more connected to Dallas, the people behind the businesses, and the cultures that shape the city itself.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
What I love most about Dallas is that it still feels like a city of opportunity. There’s a strong sense of ambition here, but also community, creativity, and fun. Over the last few years especially, it’s been exciting watching Dallas evolve into more of a true travel destination where people are becoming genuinely interested in the culture, neighborhoods, restaurants, and history that make the city unique.
At the same time, I think there’s still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to protecting and uplifting our long-standing communities, preserving the history and identity of neighborhoods, and making sure growth doesn’t come at the cost of the people and stories that built the city in the first place. I’d love to see Dallas continue growing in a way that feels intentional, community-centered, and respectful of its cultural roots rather than replacing them.
That’s a big part of why Incloodie exists in the first place: to help preserve, celebrate, and share those stories with both locals and visitors through hospitality and tourism.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.incloodiefoodtour.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/incloodiefoodtour
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/incloodiefoodtour
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-williams-incloodie-food-tour
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/incloodie-food-tour-dallas
