The Dawn Butterfly Café follows CJ Bernal, a young, talented entrepreneur and chef, and his family as they face the daunting task of building a restaurant from the ground up. 

For CJ and his family, the stakes go far beyond financial investment. The café is a tribute to his sister, Coral Dawn Bernal, whose life was tragically cut short on July 17th, 2020. At the heart of this story is a family grappling with the loss of Coral and the painful circumstances surrounding her death—a nonexistent investigation, incoherent facts, a community unwilling to confront its struggles, and a nation that views Coral and others like her as disposable.

Each episode spotlights a high-stakes moment in the restaurant's creation. As immediate conflicts emerge, viewers are drawn deeper into the true heart of the series. The personal and systemic challenges and tragedies the Bernal family has endured provide an intimate and vital perspective on what it means to be Native American.