Oct. 14, 2022

What appears to be Sioux Falls’ first West African restaurant has opened just east of downtown.

Fatu African Market and Kitchen at 1002 E. Eighth St. added a takeout counter and kitchen to its market earlier this month, serving dishes from Liberia, Nigeria and Ghana.

Co-owners Ralph and Fatu Cooper are both originally from Liberia before escaping the war zone in 2008 and 2016, respectively.

“My family came for the opportunity to grow and do something with our lives, and America was going to create that opportunity for us,” said Ralph Cooper, 26. “I came here for a reason. I made it, but my younger brother didn’t because he died from starvation in the process. Ever since then, there’s been no time for play, just work and trying to make something of myself.”

The husband and wife met in 2017 in Fargo, got married and started a family. They lived in Fargo for a couple of  years before moving to Sioux Falls in 2019 with the dream of starting a business.

“We had some friends who were driving from Sioux Falls to Minnesota every weekend to buy groceries and West African food because they couldn’t find what they were looking for in Sioux Falls,” Cooper said. “We realized it was an opportunity to come here and start something we knew was going to work.”

The two bought the building on Eighth Street and stocked it as a grocery store, using the rest of the space to sell clothing and as a partial hair salon.

In order to commit to their dream, the Coopers lost their apartment and moved into the back of the store while also running it, Cooper said. They split shifts between the two of them.

“As long as you believe in the process, you shouldn’t give up,” he said. “So many people would say: ‘Why are you being lazy? Go work at Morrell’s (Smithfield Foods).’ But I never let their words get to me. I stayed focused and we’re doing this.”

Over the past few years, the West African population has grown in Sioux Falls, and the couple has seen more demand for such groceries. The coronavirus pandemic also helped their store grow when the supply chain was disrupted and shoppers were forced to explore other ethnic stores besides their usual destination since other grocers ran out of food.

But while demand has increased, so has competition.

“We saw that and decided we needed to create a market, a deli for people who don’t know how to cook this food or who want to try it,” Cooper said. “That’s the main reason why we decided to create that side of the business, to give people who are native to America the opportunity to try West African food.”

Fatu Cooper came up with the idea to open a kitchen, since she enjoys cooking. Her husband also helps her in the kitchen.

The menu includes staple West African dishes such as fried rice and chicken, cassava leaf, potato greens, fried plantains and fufu, which is a dough made from starchy foods such as cassava, yams or plantains that have been boiled, pounded and rounded into balls.

Such dishes “play with a lot of meat,” Cooper said, adding that one dish can incorporate chicken, fish, beef and others along with greens.

Although Ethiopian food is popular African fare in Sioux Falls, Cooper emphasized that West African food features different ingredients. Cassava leaf, for example, isn’t typically used in Ethiopian meals.

“My favorite is cassava leaf,” he said. “It’s something we can all relate to. It’s something that I grew up eating when I was a child.”

The restaurant is focused on to-go orders, though it also has limited seating.

Fatu African Market and Kitchen is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.