April 12, 2019

An East African restaurant has filled the former Khorasan Kabob House space.

Juba Restaurant & Grocery Store opened in late March in a retail center at 12th Street and Garfield Avenue.

It’s owned by three friends: Nassir Abdi, who’s serving as the manager, Ali Bashir and Mohamed Ali. They’re immigrants from East Africa who met in Sioux Falls.

The business features a quick-serve area in the front of the restaurant where customers can grab breakfast to go or a snack later in the day. A warming case is stocked with sambusas, which are savory stuffed triangular pastries, and muufo, a Somali flat bread that’s like pita, Abdi said. There’s also cake.  Juba serves espresso drinks and hot tea, which he said the vast majority of Somalis drink instead of coffee.

The restaurant’s entrees feature goat, lamb, chicken and fish. Many are cooked in a “moderately spicy” sauce and served over rice or pasta. They come with anjero, a sourdough pancake-like bread similar to Ethiopian injera that’s used as a utensil, a banana and a bottle of water.

“With Somali food, we have a banana,” Abdi said. “We eat it at the same time as the other food.”

Juba’s meat is halal, which means it has been prepared according to Islamic law. “We are 100 percent halal,” Abdi said. “Some here are a mix of both, but we are 100 percent.”

Some of the meals are portions for one person, and others are larger and meant to be shared, he said.

“We invite all cultures to come here and try our food,” Abdi said.

The owners plan to add a small grocery section.

Juba is open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.