Hartwell, in Cincinnati, OH–In the concrete sprawl of Northern Cincinnati, authentic Senegalese cuisine is alive and well.
You’ll know when you open the door of Teranga African Restaurant. The pungent fishiness of the air signals the presence of the everyday lunchtime special, ceebu jën, a strong as any cafe in Senegal’s urban capital, Dakar.
The number of African restaurants and markets in Cincinnati has grown by leaps and bounds in the past few years to help the small but growing population of African immigrants in the Cincinnati area access foods from their home countries. It’s a taste of home for many Africans, though sometimes not quite like mom cooked it. At the same time, many Cincinnatians are growing to appreciate dishes from many different parts of the African continent.
Teranga, though an unassuming restaurant located in a strip mall, is the shopping and eating hub for a significant population of Senegalese living in the Cincinnati area. The restaurant is steadily busy, especially on weekends, and a constant stream of customers picking up large orders of take-out is a testament to the importance of the restaurant’s fare to busy working families. Mor Diallo, the restaurant’s owner, says it’s with this in mind that he opened the restaurant in 2003. He says that while at the time he noticed that there were no African restaurants in town, he realized “it wouldn’t be hard to gather the right ingredients.” Diallo made the leap from office worker to restaurant owner knowing that he would have the support of the entire Senegalese community as well as many in the general African community in Cincinnati. “It’s not like the rice is just Senegalese or Malian or Burkinabé,” he says.
Luckily, Diallo’s intuition has been right on. He says that while it’s certainly a challenge running the small business, he can always rely on a loyal group of customers. Just in case, Diallo runs a series of side businesses along with his wife, including an African imports grocery, a beauty salon, a money wiring service, and a travel booking agency. The couple is constantly busy. If you walk into Teranga World Market on any given day, past the aisles of imported tomato sauces and dried fish, past a giant fish freezer, you’ll be sure to find Mor Diallo, spinning from side to side in his office chair. His desk will be stacked with the forms and papers that keep him busy, his door will be open, and the stream of visitors wanting to wire money to family members on the African continent is constant.
Dr. Joseph Takougang, who studies entrepreneurship in Cincinnati’s African community, isn’t surprised by this kind of success. He says that many African business owners have continued to be successful in spite of the recession because their businesses fill very particular local needs. “People look to see what is really needed in their communities and address those gaps,” says Takougang. Dr. Takougang has met with African entrepreneurs in Cincinnati who do everything from specialty repair of cars to bringing lunch to the many African taxi drivers in the city. Even in the current unstable economy, businesses like these are thriving. In particular, he doubts Cincinnati’s African markets and restaurants will have to worry about business. He laughs and says one thing probably explains it all: “Well, you have to eat!”
