Taste of Africa helps immigrants feel at home

Taste of Africa helps immigrants feel at homeTalk of the Morning: Bureaucrats Not Impressed
By Pamela Manson The Salt Lake Tribune

Bullalle Eshete pours the dough to cook flat bread, called budena, at the African Mini-Mart & Take Out in Salt Lake City. Federal regulators disqualified the business from accepting food stamps for a year. (Chris Detrick/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Its name - African Mini-Mart & Take Out - tells only part of the story. The Salt Lake City store and restaurant does sell goat, lamb, sardines, dates and specialty foods popular among African immigrants, who travel long distances along the Wasatch Front for a taste of their home cuisine. But it also provides a way for refugees to feel a connection with their home countries as they settle into a new life in Utah. The mini-mart at 1878 S. Redwood Road includes a restaurant and is occasionally the site of a wedding reception or other celebrations. While it doesn't turn a profit, says owner Ethiopian native Rundassa Eshete, his family keeps it open as a service to the community. But the Salt Lake City office of Food and Nutrition

The African Mini-Mart & Take Out sells many types of African foods, like goat meat. The specialty food products are appealing to refugees and immigrants from East Africa. (Chris Detrick/The Salt Lake Tribune)

Services (FNS) alleges the African Mini-Mart took that public spirit a little too far. Most of the store's customers are refugees who were brought to Utah under government programs and receive public assistance while they start rebuilding their lives. FNS investigators contend that the Eshetes permitted some of their shoppers to buy on credit and pay later with food stamps they eventually received, a violation of government regulations. As a penalty, the agency disqualified the business from accepting food stamps for a year. African Mini-Mart has requested that the store be fined instead, saying that disqualification would cause a hardship to customers unable to find their staple foods at a comparable price. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the food stamp program, upheld the disqualification on the basis that there are two stores near the mini-mart that sell essentially the same type of food. The mini-mart's lawyer, Jill Dunyon, filed suit this fall in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City asking a judge to decide whether it qualifies to pay a fine instead. That request is pending. Eschete disputes that the other two African groceries could fill the community's needs, pointing out that those stores buy some of their food - including whole goat and lamb legs imported from Australia - from the mini-mart. "There are specialty goods that no one can find anywhere else," he said. The African Mini-Mart's inventory includes meats, a doughy type of bread that is a staple in many immigrants' diets, sardines and tilapia, dates, pure butter ghee, coconut milk and all kinds of spices and flavorings mixed in different combinations. Even soaps and lotions are imported to meet customer demand. The goods are particularly appealing to Ethiopians and Sudanese, but West African immigrants also shop there. "People like to keep what they are accustomed to," Eschete said. Customers can gather with fellow immigrants while enjoying a meal in the restaurant on the second floor. When they leave, they can take their native foods home, including the spices they use to enhance bland American meals. "It gives me a sense of attachment to Africa and preserves a sense of culture," said Eshete. Nuer Chier, a Salt Lake Community College student and native of Sudan, backed him up. "I get most of my food here," he said on a recent afternoon, as he ordered injera with tips, a beef and lamb dish. Eschete, 39, who grew up in the Oromo area of Ethiopia, did graduate work in Ukraine before going to Brigham Young University in 1993 to get a master's degree in business. He married a fellow student and moved to her hometown of Tooele. Some of his family members eventually followed him to Utah as refugees from the fighting in their part of Africa. They have decorated the restaurant with African tapestries, baskets and other artwork to remind customers of their homeland. The cuisine is foreign for some customers, who come for an eating adventure. "I love African food and this is the only place I can find it," teacher Andrew Haley of Salt Lake City said. His dining companion, Elena Suslov, was equally enthusiastic. Her review: "The food was awesome."
pmanson@sltrib.com

Source: http://www.sltrib.com/ci_3185677?rss (Salt Lake Tribune)