Pandemic Profiles is an ongoing KPBS series, highlighting San Diegans coping with COVID-19.
Genemo Ali, 27, immigrated to City Heights from Ethiopia when he was 11. Since then, he’s been rooted in the community, attending local schools and studying marketing at San Diego State University.
When he began looking into opening his own restaurant last year, he knew he wanted it to serve the neighborhood he’s long called home.
“I feel like my home, which is City Heights, deserves better," Ali said. "Deserves some options. So I put everything I knew about food to this menu.”
The plan was to combine Ethiopian, Thai, and American menus. Ali had extensive experience working with a Thai chef and had long dreamed of opening a restaurant that served his favorite meal — breakfast.
The pandemic, however, put a damper on his dreams of opening a restaurant this year, so Ali began experimenting with recipes at home.
“I started posting the food I made on Instagram and from there people really liked my food," he said. "I started selling out and stuff. That’s when I noticed I got to take this to the next level.”
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Soon, Ali had come up with what he called the “ghost restaurant” idea. For six months, he rented a kitchen, got the necessary permits, and operated a restaurant specifically geared towards the pandemic.
Business was good but stuck at his apartment on Fairmount Avenue, Ali began looking across the street and dreaming bigger. He had noticed that the Donut Star on the other side of Fairmount Avenue had unused kitchen space.
After months of negotiating with Donut Star’s owners, Ali’s Chicken and Waffles opened on Oct. 17.
“I invited just friends and family to come through, but we sold out on the first day,” he recalled.
With other restaurants closing, business for Ali has been good. But he still hopes to open a dine-in brunch destination, whenever it’s safe to do.
