Little Liberia — Michigan’s first Liberian restaurant — is slated to open next year in New Center, Detroit.
Chef-owner Ameneh Marhaba’s cooking melds “African, Caribbean, and Antebellum-South African American influences.” The menu will feature traditional Liberian dishes like groundnut stew, plantain chips, and Liberian country dry rice.
Past favorites at her pop-ups have included cassava leaves cooked with chicken and red palm oil, and palm butter cooked with beef and crayfish — not to mention memorable desserts like the Liberian coffee cake. Drinks include the Coco Vanilla, a signature cocktail-mocktail duo.
“The support and love we’ve received from our community have been overwhelming,” Marhaba said in the announcement. “I’m excited to create a space where our guests and fellow immigrants can experience the essence of West Africa whenever they please and feel safe doing so.”
The Afro-fusion concept has been years in the making for Marhaba, who began hosting pop-ups in 2016 around Detroit. Last year, she shed joyful tears after winning the Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest, which came with a $100,000 prize towards opening her brick-and-mortar. Marhaba was born and grew up in Liberia, where she learned to cook at a young age by helping her mother in the kitchen.
Little Liberia is moving into an area with lots of great eats — it will be located at 6513 Woodward Ave. close to The Kitchen by Cooking with Que; Supino Pizzeria; and directly across from YumVillage, and Baobab Fare.
The restaurant is expected to open next summer, sometime in “mid to late 2024.” Until then, Marhaba will continue to host pop-ups and tasting events.
For more information and updates, visit littleliberia.com.
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