Thursday, February 10, 2005
Rylan Howe
Ceremonial dresses and ethnic paintings adorn the walls of the new Ethiopian cafe, Addis Ababa, 10th and Massachusetts streets. The cafe filled the location formerly occupied by Subway restaurant. Owners hope to open this weekend.
Students will soon be able indulge in Ethiopian cuisine on Massachusetts Street.
The building that once housed a Subway restaurant at 1008 Massachusetts St. now belongs to Mekedem Belete, the owner of the new Ethiopian cafe Addis Ababa. Renovations are wrapping up and the cafe is almost ready for the grand opening
The new cafe could open this weekend, Belete said.
Vegetarian cuisine will be a staple, and the kitchen will serve vegetables native to Ethiopia. The cafe will try to buy its produce from local farmers to give the customer the freshest meal possible.
Patrons will also be offered dishes with meat. Ethiopian cuisine uses lamb, shrimp and chicken. Many Ethiopian dishes will be served spicy, unless the patron requests otherwise.
The cafe will be open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. The cafe will have a full bar.
After dinner hours the cafe will have events celebrating different Ethiopian traditions. The cafe will be open until 1:30 a.m. on special occasions, such as when the cafe hires a band for a night or after late basketball games, Belete said.
The cafe will have traditional Ethiopian music and other international music, Belete said. The Ethiopian coffee ceremony will be offered in the evenings at the cafe. During the ceremony, Ethiopian coffee will be served with popcorn and incense will burn at the tables. Belete and his staff will educate the patrons about the coffee and the tradition.
Belete and his wife, Zewdinesh Asmelash, acquired the building about two months ago.
“We owned another establishment outside the KU Medical Center,” Belete said. “We have many KU customers at our other location, and this was the next best choice for another restaurant.”
Belete and his wife moved to the United States in 1986. Many of his family members have lived in Kansas and his brother attended the University, Belete said.
advertisement
“I have a lot of friends that go to the University and I think Lawrence is a great place for Ethiopian food,” Belete said. “We want the cafe to give people a taste of Ethiopian culture. With certain dishes and events, we will try to educate people about our culture.”
Students, both international and national, make up a big percentage of the restaurant’s customers at the Kansas City location.
“I am really interested in trying the new restaurant,” Greg Summers, Topeka senior said. “I think its cool that the city will have an African restaurant in town.”
Belete said he hoped students like Summers would come, try the food, enjoy the atmosphere and return often.
Edited by Kim Sweet Rubenstein
Mallot and Haworth Halls, two of the larger ...
1 comment
Lawrence Settles Lawrence graduate student “I like T-Pain ...
1 comment
Mallot and Haworth Halls, already two of the ...
1 comment
It was the symmetry of this sidewalk that ...
1 comment
Texting while driving is the cause of many ...
1 comment
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.