Fufu, attike and Liberian fever leaves can be found at the newest grocery store on Wornall

By Jill Draper

If you’re an adventurous eater or you want to practice French, a new grocery store in Waldo is a good destination to explore.

Ivoire African Market at 8325 Wornall Road opened last spring and is owned by three sisters from the country of Ivory Coast in West Africa. On a Saturday in early October, however, their brothers were staffing the small store.

“It’s a family business,” said Siaka Diomande, who has been in Kansas City for 14 or 15 years and speaks better English than some of his siblings. All speak French, the official language of Ivory Coast, plus an ethnic language called Dioula.

The store sells African, Caribbean and tropical foods including a bit of fresh produce (sweet potatoes, yams, tarot and onions), various types of frozen fish and meat, fruit drinks and several aisles of shelf-stable items.

An entire row is devoted to fufu, a pounded meal made from combinations of cassava, plantain, yam and oat flours. Other starchy foods like tapioca and potatoes are sometimes added. Fufu is whisked with hot water on a stovetop, steamed for 10 minutes or so, then turned onto a platter and kneaded a few times into a smooth ball or dome shape. Pinch off a bit with your fingers, press a hollow into it with your thumb and scoop up the traditional accompaniment of sauce, soup or stew.

“It’s really good nutrition,” said Diomande, who claims he could eat it every day.

The store’s fufu aisle also offers a mix of seasonings like African suya pepper (a peanut-based spice rub often used for kabobs), crayfish flavor stock, jerk seasoning, hot Jamaican-style curry powder and more. There are jars of dried melon seeds for added flavor, bags of dried smoked shrimp, ground okra powder and a type of basil called Liberian fever leaves.

A couscous-like dish called attike can be made from dried, granulated cassava and a fermented cornmeal dumpling called kenkey can be purchased from the freezer, already wrapped in corn husks and ready for cooking.

About that freezer—it contains an assortment of whole fish (tilapia, red snapper, mackerel, brochet or pike and croaker), goat meat, ox tail, tripe and turkey. Frozen vegetables include okra and spinach. Nearby are huge bags of rice and a large assortment of powdered milk items including custard powder and Ovaltine chocolate drink mix.

Diomande, who lives in Raytown, grew up in an Ivory Coast city, but said the culture shift in moving to Kansas City was still a major event. He lived in New York City for a while, but it was too big. And although it wasn’t easy, he has finally become used to Midwestern winters.

All the siblings have other jobs. The sisters work in the field of nursing and medical technology. Diomande works for FedEx Corporation, and one day hopes to have his own truck.
According to Visit KC, the Kansas City area is home to one of the largest communities of Africans in the Midwest. The first waves came from Nigeria, followed by Sudanese and Somalians, who alone number about 6,000. Populations from Kenya and Ghana also are significant. At present, there are 34 African countries represented here—more than half of the African continent’s 54 nations.

Two other African markets in south KC are the Afro-Caribbean Food Market in Ruskin Heights Shopping Center at 11134 Blue Ridge Blvd. and VJ Tropical Market African and Caribbean at 7934 Troost Ave.