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A gust of cool air rushed into Spicy Water African Grill on 11th Street NW as a customer, Dionne, breezed through the front door of the new restaurant. “I went to Eastern Market and you weren’t there, so I came here to see if you were open,” she said cheerfully to the owner, Duraine Kouassi. Despite the 20 minute drive uptown between the Capitol Hill market and the U Street corridor, she said she had to get her half chicken combo.

“I had a craving. I could have gotten something else, but I knew if I didn’t like it I would’ve been upset and wished I came here anyway,” she says matter-of-factly.

Although Spicy Water African Grill just opened off the U Street corridor in January, Kouassi has been building a following since he opened up his Eastern Market stand in the summer of 2018. But his idea to serve Ivorian food goes back much further, to about 17 years ago.

Kouassi was born and raised in Bouaké, Ivory Coast, and when it came time to attend college, his mother, a successful businesswoman, asked him where he wanted to go. To her surprise, he decided on the United States — even though he didn’t know anyone here.