The other day I decided to check out the Black Lion Market at 14th and Otis, and it’s pretty cool. More of a small grocery store rather than a corner store, the front of the store has all kinds of basic groceries and is a lot nicer than most corner stores.
However, the back is where it gets interesting — it’s an Ethiopian grocery. You can buy all kinds of dry grains, lentils, peas, spices and so on, plus there are stacks and stacks of different kinds of injera, the spongy Ethiopian bread. They also have a butcher shop in case you want to get some meat (they have lamb!) plus coffee, tea and other staples.
Aside from food, they have Ethiopian kitchen gear, coffee pots, what looked like handmade wicker plates and traditional hats.
Their sign also says “deli,” but I didn’t see a menu or any prepared food, and unfortunately the guy in the back didn’t speak English very well so I couldn’t ask him many questions. Yelpers say the staff is friendly and helpful though, so maybe I was just unlucky. I bet if they do sell prepared food it’s pretty tasty.
I plan to look up some simple Ethiopian recipes (like these) and go there and get the ingredients. It also seems like it would be a good spot for vegetarians given the variety of carbs and spices they have.
It’s definitely a hidden gem — I’d walked by many times before and never checked it out. Worth a visit! See below for more photos.
