OTTUMWA, Iowa (AP) - The downtown Ottumwa area does not have a lot of grocery stores. A couple is adding their market to Market Street.
“There are a lot of east African people here,” Mullei Haile told The Ottumwa Courier (https://bit.ly/2sjrHWD ). “Maybe … 500?”
His friends, David and Brihana Amaniel have just opened an African grocery. The store is a work in progress. Some empty cases have been moved in, and there looks like plenty of room to expand. But the items they do have are already selling.
Some of the spices used in Ethiopian and Eritrean cooking are available, as is tea and little pots for strong African coffee. African people living in Ottumwa, many employed at JBS, have already found the little shop.
“We have Arabic food. Like these,” Brihana said, taking a package off the shelf. “Dates.”
Africans from some of the nations on the east of the continent purchase teff, a type of flour used to make bread. It’s not something found in a typical grocery store, Haile said.
“Some of the things are hard to find,” said Haile, who besides being a friend, is a customer of the new owners. “That’s why they opened a store here. To have things the east African people need in their everyday lives.”
Of course, anyone could find something they’d like, Haile added.
“It is open for everybody,” he confirmed.
Brihana said she and David moved to the United States in August, 2014. They left their home country of Eritrea, which is adjacent to Ethiopia. They’ve been in Ottumwa about 1 1/2 years, working at the JBS plant. They saved up and rented the former real estate office downtown.
“We have Berbere (a strong, flavorful spice blend) and we have injera,” Brihana said on a short tour of the store.
The injera may be key to the operation: Though wat, a type of spicy stew, is considered the national dish of Ethiopia, injera isn’t far behind: It’s a pancake-shaped, sourdough-like spongy bread used as an edible plate. It’s served under many of the stews the region is famous for.
You tear off a 2-inch piece of injera bread, use it to pinch some of the stew, and pop it in your mouth: No fork required. It’s why you’ll see diners wash their hands immediately before eating at an east African restaurant. Unless you know how to make it, injera can be hard to find. Three years ago, a Cargill employee told the Courier he had to make monthly trips to Chicago to get supplies, including the flatbread.
This Amaniel African Market is a much easier option, said Haile.
“Rather than move somewhere else, or have to travel so far to shop, they can buy it here. The people from Mexico have their store and Burma (Myanmar) people too, and now the east African people. This is very good.”
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Information from: The Ottumwa Courier, https://www.ottumwacourier.com
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