Maryland restaurant looks to introduce West African flavors to customers

A Maryland restaurant is introducing West African flavors to its customers. 

"I think my favorite thing to hear is like 'I've never had West African food or African food before and I didn't know it tasted like this,'" said Olu Shokunbi, the owner and founder of Spice Kitchen. "It's like bingo! That's exactly how we want you to feel."

Spice Kitchen West African Grill centers around suya.

"It's a very, very popular street food in West Africa, Nigeria specifically," said General Manager Marcus Bryan.

Suya is a nut-based spice that is sprinkled on grilled meat. It's savory, spicy, and at the heart of the business.

"We have our chicken suya," Bryan said. "We have shrimp, salmon, steak, lamb chops, as you can see." 

Spice Kitchen also serves other popular African dishes.

"Jollof rice, rice and stew, plantains," Bryan said.

Start of the business

The concept of bringing West African street food to Maryland is something Shokunbi felt many needed a taste of.

"I definitely felt like it was something that was necessary just across the diaspora, in general," he said. "I think we need more cuisines and things that represent the West African culture. If anybody was going to tell that story, why it not be me? Or why not it be somebody who has this experience in this industry?"

Shokunbi birthed the idea after working in the restaurant industry.

"I used to run my own Chipotle while I was in college," he said.

Upon graduating, he thought to combine his Nigerian culture with his work experience.

"The first location was a ghost kitchen in D.C.," Shokunbi said. "So, we operated during the pandemic just doing delivery only and curbside pick-up."

Over the last six years, the business has grown in Maryland.

"A food truck, two brick and mortar locations and a central kitchen where we kind of do takeout at night," he said.

The most recent location is in Baltimore's Canton neighborhood, which opened at the end of 2025.

Changing the way people think about West African food

Shokunbi said part of the vision he has for Spice Kitchen is to show customers the similarities between West African and American cuisines.

"A lot of different flavors that we might think are foreign to us that aren't that foreign," he said.

Shokunbi adds he wants people to know how good West African food is.

"I wanted to kind of introduce it to people in a way where they can really…grab it, right," he said. "I want them to be able to be like, 'I know fish. I know beef. I know this.' Well, why don't [you] try it with these different flavors?"

The goal is to expand the business to other states, adding a new level of spice to many across the country.