Story and photos by Bill “Hutch” Hutchison
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
We had a chance today to catch Mulugeta “Mulu” Abate and his sister Ruth Abate as they put the finishing touches on their new West Seattle venture, Pan Africa Grill, two days away from opening in the former Ho-Win space at California/Juneau.
“The renovation is pretty much complete and we will be ready on Tuesday,” Mulu said. Here’s a sneak peek inside the Pan Africa dining room:
As mentioned in previous coverage – we first reported on this new restaurant back in May – Mulu and his family also own Pan Africa Market in the Pike Place Market area and hope the new West Seattle eatery will be another successful venture.
See more of the renovations, plus a peek at the food, and even the art, ahead:
Mulu is a former West Seattle resident and has wanted to return to this area for a while. The empty Ho Win space afforded him this opportunity. “We’ve always wanted a neighborhood location where there is ample parking and we can get to know our customers.” Parking is available behind the restaurant. Here’s what you’ll see in the renovated lobby:
As mentioned in our original story, they will be serving a “core menu” (Eastern African/Ethiopian/Vegan) and adding many grilled items to this location.
The menu will include grilled chicken (whole and half), curried goat (photo above), as well as beef, lamb, fish and varied dishes from other regions of Africa. In the future he will also be adding a rotating menu that will focus on a specific region of Africa and will run for 1-2 months at a time.
Dinner items will include an Ethiopian combination plate served on injera, with greens, cabbage & potatoes (photo above); beef and chicken “tibs”; red-lentil stew and carrots and green beans; a curried goat and basmati rice; and a peanut stew with yams, also served with turmeric infused basmati rice. Dinner hours will be Tuesdays-Thursdays, 4 pm-9 pm; Fridays & Saturdays, 4 pm -11 pm; and Sundays, 4 pm – 9 pm.
“We will be serving dinner only for about a month and then we’ll expand into brunch on the weekends,” Mulu added. Everything can be ordered to go, but Mulu hopes customers will eat in and experience the new space.
Dessert offerings will be minimal to start– most likely the same as what he serves in his downtown location. He is also still waiting for the liquor license to go through all the channels, so only non-alcoholic beverages will be served for now.
One added feature to the new décor is custom art made by the restaurateur’s friend, artist Yegizaw “Yeggy” Michael, who told WSB, “All my art in the restaurant is for sale and I also have a website for customers to see more” – find it at yeggystudio.com.
The restaurant’s website is still a work in progress, but you’ll soon find more information at panafricagrill.com.
| 34 COMMENTS