Role of migrant food ways: A Ghanaian Restaurant

Human migration in contemporary times is a function of pull and push factors from both country of origin and country of destination. Notable among them is economic hardship and unfavorable political environment in their countries of origin (Massey, 2008). Due to the unfamiliar terrain and environment in the destination countries immigrants adopt various ways of coping and settling into their new home. Food is an important way that immigrants develop coping mechanisms and the immigrant foodscape is the embodied production and consumption of food or cuisine (Welsh, 2001).

Producing and consuming food is an intrinsic form of expressing cultural, social, and economic identity. When migrants move, their food ways move with them and they express themselves through the process of fixing or consuming their traditional foods. Immigrants use their food ways as a way of building community, expressing their identity, staying connected to their roots, and consuming authentic staple foods. This embodiment of cuisines by immigrants show how food is in many ways more than a meal or source of nutrition to immigrants.

This story map describes the role of two West African restaurants to their immigrant community (Ghanaian) in Charlotte, NC. The story map explores how the spaces in these restaurants are embodied by migrants through fixing and consumption of the food they serve. Most Ghanaian dishes constitute carbohydrates that usually include rice, corn, cassava, yam and plantain, and protein in the form of a side of soup or stew (Eli-Cophie et al., 2016). Staple foods in Ghana are usually associated with a particular ethnic group or region of the country. Although there is no officially recognized national cuisine or dish, almost all staple foods in Ghana can assume the form of national cuisines to migrant Ghanaians. Gatherings and activities among Ghanaian immigrants are usually centered around meals.

Mama Gee's and Royal African Cuisine restaurants are both owned by Ghanaian immigrant families that serve Ghanaian dishes. These are two of several African restaurants in Charlotte that serve cuisines that cater to immigrants. Ghana is located in the West African subregion. We shall discuss how these restaurants are embodied by migrants as a form of identity, authenticity and community.

Mama Gee's is located in the Biddleville neighborhood in central Charlotte. It is the only business located in its immediate environs (Blocks). The space was previously a barbecue restaurant and there are still physical remnants of the previous business. The location is quite central in the metro area, since it is located at the intersection of Highway 77, 277 and W. Brookshire Fwy. The owner mentioned that they wanted to locate it at a space where people can easily access it during lunch breaks to get their meals since it is approximately a ten to fifteen minutes drive from uptown Charlotte.

Royal African Cuisine (RAC) is located in the Eastway Crossing that is located at the intersection of the Eastway Drive and Central Avenue in Charlotte, NC. It was recently renovated to include 64,000 square feet of new retail and has about forty businesses located in this space. According to the owner of RAC the restaurant was sited at this location because it would be more accessible from all parts of the metro. The mall has other migrant and non-migrant owned stores and this was also a motivating reason to set up the business at that location. According to the owner of RAC, the owners of the mall were interested in the idea of an African-owned business in that location because it will add to the multicultural nature of the foodscape since there were other ethnic owned businesses.

Migrant food ways are ways by which immigrants can show their identity and roots (Heldke, 2006). In both restaurants, we see how food-centered placemaking activities are adopted to show roots or identity. Placemaking is the act of transforming a space into a place by experience, or attributing meaning to the space with activities and attributes that transform the abstract nature of spaces into a place. This can be expressed through art making, culture, events, streets, buildings, and local festivals, to create experiences and meaning in the spaces (Ujang & Zakariya, 2015). The central place making activity for both restaurants (space) is in the making, fixing and consuming of Ghanaian food. Pictures, artworks, music, and language, are ways by which both restaurants express their identity and roots as Ghanaian. These activities or artifacts are used to create a sense of home for Ghanaian or West African immigrants who enter these spaces. These food-centered placemaking activities subsequently foster development of social networks, particularly among immigrant communities.

At Royal African cuisine for instance, welcome is written and is expressed in nine African languages including, Twi, Yuroa, French, and African. These different forms of expressing “welcome” signal that the restaurant space is not only for Ghanaians but for other African migrants as well. A key tenet of placemaking is that placemaking activities should be welcoming (Markusen & Gadwa, 2010; Wyckoff, 2014) and that is reflected in this example at Royal African Cuisine restaurant.

At Mama Gee's, notable placemaking artifacts include a picture that says welcome in the local Ghanaian language Twi. The store is wrapped with Ghanaian flags on the windows, and they also have a Map of Ghana, Africa and the capital city in Ghana: Accra. 

“When you step in we want to take you to Ghana without taking you to Ghana, so the little things we can do kinda to bring out the Ghana hospitality is what you see with the Greetings from Ghana (artifact) and Accra (map of Accra)” -Kobby (co-owner, Mama Gee's)

Migrant restaurants and businesses serve as spaces where immigrants are able to experience authentic taste and flavors through their meals, ingredients and recipes (Zukin, 2008; Heldke, 2005). Meals served at migrant restaurants are embodied by migrants as a way of feeling connected to their home through the flavors, taste, and way of consuming the meal. Aroma, flavors, and tastes that emanate from fixing or consuming migrant food can be regarded as pungent, unhealthy, overly spicy, and unsavory by American’s or people who are not familiar with migrant aroma or cuisines (Trudeau, 2006; Oum, 2005; Heldke, 2006; Alkon and Vang ). The kitchen and dining space of these two Ghanaian restaurants create a space for fixing and consuming Ghanaian foods.

“We were just looking for a place to just do our thing (cooking or fixing Ghanaian dishes)" Kobby (co-owner, Mama Gee's)

In Ghana, most staple meals are with their hands and being able to consume food in such manner invokes the nostalgia of home and also a sense of comfort since they are able to do so without feeling awkward (“other”).  For instance, Royal African Cuisine provides an empty bowl and a jug of water and soap for washing hands, an act that is symbolic of eating with one's hands in Ghana. The spicy tastes and flavors of the cuisines served at both restaurants are embodied by some customers as a taste of authenticity and a nostalgic feeling of home.

“...a customer told me my mum's (Mama Gee) jollof is like my own mum’s jollof from back home (Ghana)"- Kobby (co-owner, Mama Gee's)

Migrant food ways change when they move, and in an attempt to adjust to their new environment, they use ingredients at their disposal and slightly altered ways of fixing food to replicate the authentic taste and embodiment of the meals. The restaurants use carefully selected spices and ingredients in making their food in order to create tastes and flavors that are as close to using ingredients from Ghana as possible. These ingredients are aimed at providing an authentic taste and flavor of Ghanaian food. Mama Gee's noted that they get their ingredients from Ghanaian-owned African markets, like Afriye's market and Charlotte Market International. Both restaurants mentioned that they have connections with businesses in Ghana that supply them with specific ingredients that bring out the authentic flavors and taste that cannot be obtained here. 

“We do use some imported stuff from Ghana, because we try to prepare the food and have it taste as close as possible to a Ghanaian food in America because there are some of the things (ingredients) they don't use here…” - Kobby (co-owner, Mama Gee's)

Migrant food businesses foster building of community or social networks and cultural capital among immigrants. At both restaurants we see how the space allows for connection between Ghanaian and other Africans through the social networks and communities they build. The connections and social networks that exist among migrant communities are strengthened through their food ways. Through these social networks, information, and assistance can be disseminated among immigrants. In both restaurants for instance, there are stacks of business cards of other Ghanaian and non-Ghanaian services or businesses, notices of vacant rooms for rent, and other notices of activities in the Charlotte area. Through their connections, they provide assistance and coping assistance to recent Ghanaian migrations in Charlotte 

“It is not a one stop shop. It is crazy, you never know someone will go to a restaurant and ask for vacant houses or rentals because they know we have connections with Ghanaians and other Africans..” Kobby (co-owner, Mama Gee's)

The manager of Royal African Cuisine told a story of when Atrium Hospital called the restaurant to assist in finding a Swahili speaker. The hospital needed a native Swahili speaker to assist them communicate with a patient. According to the manager of RAC, he was surprised to receive such a call however, he was able to connect the hospital with a Kenyan to help them out within a few minutes. He mentioned that through everyday interaction with customers, he has developed connections and acquaintances with migrants from several African countries.

Through globalization, social media and the connected world we live in today, food ways, ingredients, and cuisines are able to move to places where they may not have originally existed (Appaduri 1998). As a result, foreigners are able to consume cuisines from other parts of the world, although they may not embody it the same as immigrants. In 2021, trying or tasting Fufu was trendy on Tiktok through the Fufu challenge. The manager at Royal African Cuisine stated that this trend resulted in an increase in Fufu sales during that period. According to him, customers were from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds such as, Asian, African Americans, Caribbeans and Hispanics. From watching YouTube videos about the challenge you notice how some find the taste appealing while others find it disgusting. Also, people in an attempt to ensure they are consuming it the "right way" eat with their hands while others smack or slap (awkwardly) the Fufu as a form of performance before eating.

In conclusion, this story map has thrown light on how migrant food ways in this case, restaurants play important roles among migrant communities. The story map discussed how placemaking is adopted by the store to make the space more welcoming and radiate a sense of home for customers who come through the restaurants. The story map also highlighted how the restaurants fix and make cuisines that are authentic to their roots or identity through taste and flavor. New immigrants within the Charlotte metro use these spaces as an avenue through which they get information and feel at home away from home. The story map discussed how migrant owned businesses make migrants feel at home in their "new home".

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