Chef Ameneh Marhaba's Little Liberia holds its grand opening at 16530 E. Warren Ave. on Friday, May 15, at 11:30 a.m. The restaurant is billed as Michigan's first dedicated Liberian kitchen.
Marhaba started the project as an African-fusion pop-up in 2016. She won a Hatch Detroit cycle in 2022, the cash-and-mentorship competition that has seeded a stretch of Detroit independents over the last decade. The restaurant cleared the buildout to a brick-and-mortar this spring.
Cassava leaves are on the menu. So are roasted chicken wings and fried plantains. Cassava leaves are Liberia's national dish, a slow-cooked stew of pounded leaves with palm oil, smoked fish or meat, and rice. The restaurant lists African-inspired cocktails alongside a West African food menu.
The original plan was for the former Room Project space in New Center. That fell through in late 2024 over what Marhaba described as unanticipated obstacles. East Warren picked up the project and held it.
The corridor it lands on is the East Warren Avenue commercial strip between Cadieux and Outer Drive, a stretch that has been the focus of city-led streetscape investment for the last several years. The grand-opening event includes tastings, a Liberian dance performance, a DJ, and an art exhibition. RSVPs run through Eventbrite.
The bet is that Detroit's African food market, already deep in West African flavors through the Senegalese, Ghanaian, and Nigerian rooms scattered across the metro, has space for a Liberian-specific kitchen. Marhaba's nine years of pop-up work suggest there is a regulars list waiting for the door to open.
The hard part is over.
16530 E. Warren Ave., Unit A, East Warren Corridor.
