Baobab Fare’s Waka Food Truck Is Has Found a Permanent Home in Eastern Market #DetroitFood

Center, Hamissi Mamba, with daughters Dieze (left) and Kenza (right). | Waka/Booth One Creative

The James Beard Award-nominated restaurant’s sister food truck is growing roots and will continue to pop up around town

Baobab Fare’s sister food truck Waka has found a permanent home and later this summer will move into its new space at 2465 Russell — the site that for decades was occupied by the iconic Russell Street Deli in Eastern Market.

Here, customers can expect Waka’s signature array of wraps made with flaky chapati, a traditional flatbread that is filled with stewed meats and vegetables typical of Burundian cuisine. In addition, diners will find other East African-style delicacies like brochettes — skewered meat kabobs grilled over charcoal.

“All of the flavors that people love from Baobab Fare are here, but Waka is even more fast and accessible,” says Baobab co-founder Nadia Nijimbere in a written statement issued Wednesday, May 16. “We are proud of what we’ve done with the food truck, but a permanent kitchen and a place you can always find Waka is so important. We are so excited to bring even more tastes of our culture to Detroit.”

Waka, which means shine, debuted as a food truck during Noel Night in 2022. The truck will continue to operate after the physical restaurant opens, and is scheduled to pop up once a month on Saturdays at Eastern Market through the rest of the year.

Fans of Baobab Fare, which this year was named a finalist for a James Beard Award in the Outstanding Restaurateur category, may recall that Nijimbere and co-founder Hamissi Mamba purchased a building on Detroit’s east side in March that will serve as the second Baobab location. Waka will take a distinctly fast-casual approach, with seating for about 30, a line of freshly-prepared grab-and-go meals, and a selection of products from Baobab’s retailer business, Soko, including bags of coffee, chocolate bars, and the brand’s bottled beverages like its Ji passionfruit juice. The couple is leasing the space from Detroit developer Sanford Nelson and expect to spend $600,000 in repairs, according to BridgeDetroit. Russell Street Deli shuttered in 2019 following a public battle with Nelson and his company Firm Real Estate LLC and the space has sat largely empty ever since.

According to the media announcement about the opening, Mamba, a native of Burundi, recalls how as a child his mother sold chapati and brochettes at the bustling markets of Bujumbura to support the household. To Mamba, this makes Eastern Market the ideal location for Waka to set up shop.

“We didn’t want to go anywhere else to start this,” says Mamba in the statement. “People here in Detroit take care of us, so this idea of bringing East African street food to America has to start here. This is home, and we are so thankful to be able to grow our business and build on our story right here in Eastern Market.”

from Eater Detroit - All