Michigan’s first bona fide Liberian restaurant is serving up food and drinks in Detroit’s East English Village. Little Liberia is owned and run by Chef Ameneh Marhaba, who founded it as a pop-up in 2016.
“It feels amazing,” Marhaba tells Hour Detroit. “All the years I took perfecting the recipes, now it’s paying off.”
After a limited soft-opening period in late February (which included a surprise visit from former Vice President Kamala Harris), the restaurant opened to the public March 5. That first day, Marhaba says, it was a full house.
The community shared support and even gifts: one neighbor brought her a notepad engraved with “Little Liberia,” and “Chef Ameneh”; a local Liberian family gave her a Liberian flag.
“I’m gonna put it up somewhere in the restaurant,” Marhaba says. “It was just so thoughtful.”
Food & Drink Options at Little Liberia
The food menu, which Hour Detroit sampled at a media preview on March 6, includes a roasted goat shank. The goat cooks for five hours on low heat until ultra-tender. It’s served with plantains and warm, flavorfully seasoned rice called dry rice. (“Dry” meaning it’s not stew-based.)
If you’re a fan of collard greens, know they’re on the menu — but you might want to branch out and try Little Liberia’s Plava Sauce, a savory, smoky, stew which is also greens-heavy. Other standout dishes include fried fish and groundnut stew.
Little Liberia has several signature cocktails, which Marhaba developed with bartender and front of house manager Asia Pyles. Each has a connection to Liberia — and one in particular, Brown Suga (dark rum, Kahlua, coconut cream, and crème de cacao) is named after a shop Marhaba’s mother used to run. Another, Bassa Blue (Malibu, Blue Curacao, melon liqueur, and guava) takes its name for the Bassa people, and Grand Bassa County’s beautiful Atlantic-facing beaches.
“We’re sharing Liberian food, but you’re also getting a little bit of our culture, a little bit of our community,” says Marhaba.
Ameneh Marhaba on Advice for Aspiring Chefs
Marhaba, who immigrated to the United States as a teenager, was born in Liberia. She grew up between there and Lebanon. She’s had a passion for cooking since she was 16 or 17 years old, she says, and has the following advice for aspiring chefs, particularly young women: “Don’t give up.”
Marhaba adds, “Being in the business industry as a woman, you have to work 10 times as hard. Being in the business industry as a Black woman, you have to work double. And being business as an immigrant Black woman, you got to kick down the doors. …Keep believing in what your passion is.”
Little Liberia’s plans to open as a brick and mortar was initially announced in 2023. At first, Marhaba intended to open in New Center on Woodward. However, after she’d done all the research and permitting for the buildout, she realized it would be out of budget. But in 2024, after receiving an $80,000 grant and assistance from Motor City Match, she found a commercial space inside The Ribbon, a newly opened mixed-use development on East Warren.
“We found this new building, found a new architectural company, found a new construction company, and started working with people who truly cared about our culture,” she says. “Now, we’re open.”
Marhaba graduated in 2021 from ProsperUs Detroit’s Entrepreneur Training Program. The following year, she earned a $100,000 grant from the Comerica Hatch Detroit contest — which has helped launch other well-known Detroit restaurants like Baobab Fare, La Feria, and Sister Pie.
Little Liberia is currently operating Thursdays through Saturdays from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant plans to announce a grand opening date in coming weeks. To stay updated, visit littleliberia.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
