Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant is a new business on the block.
The traditional Ethiopian Restaurant has been located on University Avenue in the City Heights area of San Diego since May 2022.
“We really want to help the community around here to have good Ethiopian food and authentic Ethiopian food,” the Owner of Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant, Alemayehu Wolkaba, said.
Wolkaba’s love for food was a driving factor in his choice to co-found the restaurant.
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“We are familiar with the places around here and we know it’s growing a lot like the North Park area, so we want to invest here,” Wolkaba said.
The local community has rallied behind the business and has fueled its success so far.
“On our first day, we had a soft opening, we didn’t announce it that much and we had a big turnout,” Wolkaba said.
City Heights is a cultural hub in the city of San Diego. The diverse community is full of residents with an entrepreneurial spirit.
“For a long time, the rent was the most affordable in the area so a lot of immigrants would open their first businesses here in the United States here in City Heights,” said the director of the City Heights Business Association, Enrique Gandarilla.
Entrepreneurship in the community has led to a number of businesses being located in the area.
“Our district, we have a little over 500 businesses of all sizes and not all of them are storefronts and we have about 200 or so property owners within our district,” Gandarilla said.
Wolkaba hopes to expand the business in the future and sees the City Heights neighborhood as a partner in that goal.
“Hard work pays off I guess,” Wolkaba said.
