Today, Little Liberia is a bustling restaurant on the corner of East Warren and Kensington Avenue in Detroit. But Michigan’s first Liberian restaurant began as a source of much-needed extra cash when chef Ameneh Marhaba started it as a pop-up in 2016. As the breadwinner for her eight younger siblings, she worked seven days a week while taking college classes.
At various bars and restaurants, Marhaba — who was born in Liberia and raised between there and Lebanon — introduced Detroiters to the staples she grew up eating: cassava leaves simmered in palm oil; dry rice cooked in a sauce with fragrant onions, peppers, and spices.
In 2022 — the same year she earned her bachelor’s in criminal justice — she competed in various challenges against more than 100 contestants in the Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest. That July, she was crowned the winner, earning a $100,000 grand prize and a package of pro bono support and counsel.
“I was fighting to bring Little Liberia to the city because I wanted to share my culture, and I wanted to share something new and different with the city,” Marhaba says.
Little Liberia’s menu pays tribute to West Africa’s most beloved dishes, like the rich, deeply flavorful groundnut stew.
One of the most popular orders is also one of the most decadent. The roasted goat shank is rubbed with a blend of 12 different spices that caramelize atop a bed of onions. The goat cooks low and slow in a simmering broth for six hours until it’s fall-off-the-bone tender. The final cut is served with the diner’s choice of dry or jollof rice and sweet plantains.
Marhaba aims to bring the authentic flavors to a broader audience with plenty of vegan options and a menu that is more than 90% gluten free.
When we speak on the phone in June, Marhaba is recovering from surgery after an unexpected health emergency put her out of work — less than a month after the grand opening celebration. Her team has been manning the kitchen in her absence, and she plans to return in July.
“I had to remind myself so many times … you could be the first person to do something,” she says. “I’m grateful for the people who kept pushing me throughout this … and just believed in me enough for me to say I know I cannot give up on this.”
16530 E. Warren Ave., Unit A, Detroit; 313-348-1561; littleliberia.com.
More of Hour Detroit’s Best New Restaurants 2026
Wilder’s in Birmingham
Rose’s in Detroit
The Franklin Oyster Bar and Eatery in Franklin
Best New Bars
Sunda New Asian in Detroit
Medusa in Detroit
Bar Gabi in Hazel Park
This story originally appeared in the August 2026 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.
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