Thursday is the last day of August, and it’s also the last day of the National Black Business Month.

One black owned restaurant, Zagol, is offering Northern Nevada a restaurant experience you can’t find anywhere else.

Zagol has been the only Ethiopian restaurant in Northern Nevada for 15 years.

While being the only Ethiopian stable is already a massive standout, it’s all ran by one person who is the owner, server, cook and dishwasher.

“Once in a while I get help from a family member, but most of the time I run everything by myself,” said Shita Yenenh, Owner of Zagol Ethiopian Restaurant. “That’s the only way I can stay in the business because I’m a small business.”

While the work can be difficult, Shita powers through it.

“It is very difficult, but you know if you love what you do, I don’t really feel about the work,” Yeneh said “I don’t get tired until the end of the day because I love to cook. I love to serve. I love the people and the people are so supportive.”

Shita has been carrying the load by herself for 15 years. 

Sometimes she’ll receive help from family members or customers, but for most of the part she flies solo.

Some customers have even help Shita by taking orders and filling up waters.

She manages all of the work by only having the restaurant open for four hours. 

Money concerns are a reason why she doesn’t hire more people. 

Despite the heavy workload, she says it’s all worth it to bring the only authentic Ethiopian experience to northern Nevada.

To create the authenticity, Shita gets all of her spices from Ethiopia.

She’ll either travel herself or have a friend bring back a luggage full of it.

A key aspect of Ethiopian dining is there is no use of utensils, but rather use a flatbread called injera. 

They use the injera to scoop up the entrees, staples for Zagol include Gored Gored, Zilzil Tibs, and Ye Beg Tibs which are made from lamb.

She also prepares all of the injera fresh every day. 

First timers coming into the restaurant often have no idea where to start.

“They look at the menu and they’re kind of lost,” Shita said. “You can see them and then they’re looking as if they don’t have any idea, they never heard of the food’s name.”

For people new to Ethiopian cuisine, Shita will ask people how spicy they like it and then recommend some of her favorite dishes.

“I just love it when I see the people come here and eat the food and how they enjoy it,” Shita said. “How they love it. When I see their face on how they’re happy to get this food, that makes me happy and want it to go on and on. It makes me happy to make them happy.” 

After years of being a Swiss Army knife, she is ready to pass the baton for someone else to take over.

She refuses to retire until so, because she wants to make sure the only Ethiopian restaurant in Northern Nevada is here to stay.

“I could’ve retired a year ago,” Shita said. “I could’ve retired during COVID, but I just don’t want this one restaurant to go away because people love my food, they love to come here. I love to serve them, and it makes me happy for them to find different food in this area. I don’t want it to go away. That’s my goal. I’m killing myself until I find somebody to take it over.”

Shita also says she’s appreciative of the community for embracing her as a black business owner and supporting her for 15 years.

If you would like to check out the Ethiopian experience, you can visit Zagol in the Mira Loma Shopping Center on Monday to Saturday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.