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When Patty Sabol opened Maddy’s African Market on North Main Street in Concord, New Hampshire, her goal was to give the growing community of African-born residents a taste of home. Now, she’s opening a restaurant to make sure all of the state’s capitol grows to appreciate the rich essence of traditional African cuisine.
“I want to make sure every American in Concord tastes my food,” Sabol said.
“The community is so excited; they didn’t have anywhere to eat locally and I wanted to do something to help them. I’m hoping it’ll be the biggest African restaurant in all of New Hampshire.”
Maddy’s Food Hub opened last month with a host of East and West African dishes that offers Caribbean inspired cuisine from jerk chicken, to oxtail, jollof rice and fish banku. After creating a one-stop shop by way of her marketplace for traditional African spices, vegetables, meats and pre-made meals, Sabol quickly outgrew the walls of her store and needed to meet the demands for her authentic delicacies.
“I grew out of the space and wanted to find a place to start a restaurant,” she said. “I went to the former owner and asked if I could use his kitchen and he ended up offering me the space.”
Though her beginnings were met with ease and community support, Sabol says the usual hurdles of being a Black business owner have plagued her as well. It’s hard being a business owner, especially not growing up in America,” she said.
“I am the only Black business owner that has come this far and most people don’t know where to start.”
For the African-born entrepreneur, it’s about making fellow immigrants feel welcome by way of making their culture more accessible. “This is something that will make our people feel like they’re not different and I want the youth to see that,” Sabol said.
“I want them to feel comfortable and I want to show them that this is something we can do, and they can do, too.”
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