By Brian Goodin, Contributing Writer
Photos Brian Goodin
Red Sea restaurant is in the heart of City Heights, 4717 University Avenue, part of San Diego’s ever-growing diversity of immigrants. City Heights is a melting pot of unity bent toward giving opportunity for the elusive American dream. It is also the landmark of the first Ethiopian restaurant in the area. The effort to establish Red Sea restaurant was brought about by Shimeles Kibret, the current owner, and 19 of his countrymen who came together to start the business.
Shimeles, a very humble man, immigrated to the United States in 1984 and has been married for the last 14 years to his lovely wife, Yetnatet Abebe. Together they keep the Red Sea from parting, so to speak, as they endeavor to stay afloat during these trying times. The 19 other countrymen who invested in the Red Sea have gone on to other businesses and jobs of their own. Since 1986, Shimeles, along with his wife and some relatives, have sustained the day to day operations of the Red Sea when the last of the initial investors moved on in 1996 to pursue other ventures.
The menu at the Red Sea is very accommodating when considering healthy eating. Shimeles explains that most of the food is organic vegetables, chicken, beef & lamb. Spices are from the mother land along with a coffee that is homemade, grounded by hand right there in the restaurant. Ethiopian coffee is considered to be some of the best coffee in the world. The high altitude growing conditions attribute to the amazing flavor of this king tasting brew.
A side note on the source and tradition of the relished taste at the Red Sea restaurant: it comes from a cookbook that was given to Shimeles by his mother with many of her recipes, a nurturing effort to keep her son from going hungry once he left home. We can all be grateful for her effort because she doesn’t just feed Shimeles, she feeds us as well through the palatable menu created by Shimeless using her recipes. Let us share in this cultured feeding by stopping in to pay a scrumptious visit to the Red Sea restaurant.
Still supported largely by the African community here in San Diego it is a far cry from being enough to feel comfortable in a business where longevity is not so easy to come by. The Voice & Viewpoint is always proud to speak a word of encouragement to help support Africans and African Americans in our comm”UNITY”, as we all should. So, take a moment to stop by and satisfy your taste buds with some delicious Ethiopian cuisine at the Red Sea.
