Shokunbi earned his stripes in the restaurant business at Chipotle Mexican Grill, rising to the level of general manager at a store in his native Bowie, Md. The chain left its mark on him, not so much with its approach to customization but with its big-tent philosophy. Customers at Spice Kitchen don’t walk the line and accessorize their plates of steak or chicken suya. They do something perhaps more important: They experience West African flavors in a counter-service setting, a relaxed atmosphere that, by its design, is meant to ease newcomers into a dish still largely foreign to American palates.
Spice Kitchen is Nigerian street food by way of MiXt Food Hall, an airy, open space with large windows that flood the room with sunlight, perfect for shining a light on one of West Africa’s beloved dishes.
The chef and owner’s goal is to change “the way people think about African food,” he tells me one afternoon inside the food hall, as he sips on a hibiscus lemonade spiked with ginger.
I would not bet against him. Shokunbi has presence: He’s a tall, barrel-chested man who has a striking stillness to him, as if he absorbs all the information around him but maintains his singular drive. At age 27, he already runs two businesses — not only Spice Kitchen, but a roofing and solar company, too — and he has much larger plans to empower communities of color with investments in real estate.
