Browsing Around Little Africa

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A week ago, I had a chance to go around NE Portland and browse around the ethnic shops

that spurred up from NE Sacramento Street along MLK blvd to all the way Killingsworth St. I knew there

were shops from a various immigrants but I did not know African owned shops were also a sizeable number

compared other businesses in the neighborhood. That was until I stumbled on Hashi Halal Market and the

Horn of Africa restaurant in NE Portland. Both place are favorites of locals but they mostly rely as a

customer base East African immigrants who immigrated to the U.S around the 1990s. Hashi’s is one of

about a dozen African shops that have recently popped up in this section of Portland.

At first when I entered Hashi’s, it just looked like any other grocery shop in the city. But

taking a good look at the merchandise, my thought changed about the little congested store. The place

looked jammed with imported items from all over the globe. Cumin seeds, chicken seasoning cubes, curry

powder, milk powder, grinded African pepper, cinnamon peels, dates, packed the thin size shelves. About a

dozen bags of basmati rice lay underneath the shelves ready to be grabbed. Imported spaghetti as well as

U.S made brands were elegantly stacked against the backdrop of a taken down store sign. Potato chips

cluttered near the register couple feet from the floor, perhaps so kids can reach, ransack, and punch them

before their parents can detect them.

The smell was that of aroma. The store smelled like a heavy and air-deprived scents of various ingredients rose together and hovered the ceiling motionless. Imagine the smallest of all spaces with the most odors full and smelly of all ...

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...ind of meat of your choice (mostly lamb). I devoured the whole plate and washed it down with mango juice. I looked at the menu saw that restaurant also serves a variety of East African foods such as rice and Pasta with Goat Meat, Chopped Beef fried with vegetables called Suqaar, Fish, Beef Stake, Chicken, Delicious soup and more. It is a wonderful destination for anyone willing to bite a piece of meal rich in the true taste of Somalia and Ethiopia.

In conclusion, the NE Portland has flourished and didn’t know much about African immigrants owned quite a number of stores, restaurants, saloons, and coffee shops. They refurbished the area by opening small businesses of many types and this restored the attractiveness the area has been known to have. Right now the businesses have survived the recession by integrating the global taste and attracting ethnic customer base.

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