Detroit Food Truck Fork in Nigeria Plans Cass Corridor Restaurant | Eater Detroit

"Started as a food-truck business that nearly didn’t survive the early pandemic, Fork in Nigeria has rapidly exploded in popularity—largely thanks to the social-media #FufuChallenge—and is approaching its one-year anniversary. Based at Detroit’s Avenue of Fashion, the truck (Iroegbu’s operation) sells fufu (pounded yam) served with leafy green egusi or soup, plus Nigerian staples such as jollof rice, suya steak, goat shank, oxtail, and various snacks; it has spawned pop-ups and permanent schedules in Shelby Township, Ann Arbor, and Detroit’s east side and even draws lines of about 60 people at Eight Mile and Gratiot. To celebrate and pilot a liquor line he’s developing (with Toronto-based Siempre Tequila), Iroegbu is giving away free, 21-and-older test shots on Wednesday, May 5 (samples available until 6 p.m.; not for sale), explaining that he traveled to Nigeria to source flavors and extractors so he could make the spirits himself rather than import them. He plans to open a family-style restaurant on Woodward Avenue in summer 2021—with seating on the floor and diners eating with their hands—and is also launching an additional truck in Columbus, Ohio." - Monica Williams