Afro Deli Owner to Open Upscale Minneapolis Restaurant
The owner of the popular Afro Deli in Minneapolis is planning a new, upscale East African restaurant at the city's Lake and Nicollet intersection. The new venture aims to provide a more refined dining experience focused on the region's diverse cuisine.
Afro Deli owner and founder Abdirahman Kahin was named the 2023 National Small Business Person of the Year. Kahin, who immigrated to the United States from Somalia and Djibouti in 1996, started with a coffee shop in 2009 before opening the first Afro Deli location in 2010. The existing Afro Deli restaurants, with four locations in the Twin Cities, are known for their fast-casual, Pan-African fusion menu that combines African, Mediterranean, and American influences. The new restaurant will pivot to a more focused, upscale dining experience centered on East African cuisine. This new venture is part of a major redevelopment project at a historically significant and controversial intersection. In 1977, a stretch of Nicollet Avenue, a major city thoroughfare, was closed to build a Kmart, a decision long considered a significant urban planning mistake that divided neighborhoods. The "New Nicollet" redevelopment plan will finally reopen the street after nearly 50 years. The 10-acre site of the now-demolished Kmart will be transformed into a mixed-use area with affordable housing, retail space, and a new public park, with the entire project aiming for completion by 2030.
