Cafe Songhai: Western African cuisine meets high-end dining

International Restaurants: Find Cuisines from Across the Globe Just Down the Road

Although the U.S. Census Bureau uses five racial and ethnic categories (six if you count “other”), the world is made up of so many diverse cultures that it would be nearly impossible to categorize them all.

Perhaps more interesting than categorizing people is learning to enjoy the different cuisines they share with others.

One of the greatest aspects of living in one of the most diverse counties in the country is that Gwinnett is home to a variety of food styles.

While Italian, Mexican and Chinese dishes may be familiar, have you ever tried a West African, Jamaican or Persian dish?

Peachtree Corners Magazine visited purveyors of these different fares operating here in town. We encourage you to give them a try.

You’ll never know if your taste buds have more in common with a place across the globe than with the food you’ve been eating your entire life.

Bon appetit! Or, in other words, Ɛyε dε, Eat good or Nooshe jân!

If you’re craving fufu or jollof rice, you’re in luck. Those traditional Nigerian dishes are on the menu at Cafe Songhai, a West African-themed restaurant in Peachtree Corners.

Owners Matthew and Catherine Owusu opened the restaurant in 2017 with a desire to feature the cuisine of Matthew’s native land.

“My husband is Ghanian by birth and moved away from there in his early twenties,” said Catherine. He went to England to study and worked in the pharmaceutical industry.”

But his passion for cooking was strong. So, he worked part-time in an African restaurant as well. He eventually moved to the U.S., where the two met.

Catherine is a Bermudian and a professional in the banking industry. While studying in South Carolina, she applied for a Green Card during a lottery period for Bermudians. She was awarded permanent residency but was required to maintain a full-time job.

To do that, she worked at her uncle’s dental office in Nashville. Upon graduation, she applied for a banking job, but the city didn’t have many options for international banking, her specialty.

So, she ended up in Atlanta at Wells Fargo.

By 2008, Matthew was working with and helping one of the major West African restaurants in Atlanta. As a result, he wanted to open his own with his wife helping in the background.

“He’s the one that manages the restaurant day to day. I am typically there on the weekends because I still have a full-time position,” she said.

Catherine now works in fintech but enjoys her role at Cafe Songhai.

A new concept is born

With Matthew’s strong culinary skills and science background, it was clear that he would run the kitchen.

The two came up with the concept together and chose the name based on an old West African kingdom, the Songhai Empire.

“My husband did a lot of work to open the place, renovating it and everything,” she said. “I am typically the one who is there in the front, overseeing and managing it while interacting with customers and the staff.”

Cafe Songhai opened in 2017. Its goal was to be an upscale West African restaurant for metro Atlantans.

“We knew that there was a market for it. That’s why we chose a location in Peachtree Corners,” she said. “It met certain criteria — it had a diverse population, it was close to a population who would perhaps not be West African but would be open to trying that sort of food, and it had a patio for outside dining, was accessible and had parking.”

She added that Atlanta parking can be challenging to find, and accessibility is so crucial to customer satisfaction. Finding parking can add another $20 to the evening’s expenses.

A few years after Cafe Songhai opened, the COVID pandemic wreaked havoc on the restaurant industry, but Matthew’s versatility was a saving grace.

“Where many places had to close down or lay off their staff because they just weren’t getting the business, he was able to cook it, serve it up and hand it to those customers who were ordering takeout,” Catherine recalled.

“There were times when he was there by himself doing takeout online orders. We made it through because he could handle it,” she explained.

At the time, the couple revamped their restaurant style and pivoted to online takeout only.

“I distinctly remember that day; it was a Friday. That sounds like a song or an intro to a book,” she said. “It was a Friday, and I was there, and I remember we just started getting a lot of phone orders.”

Again, luck was on their side. They had just implemented an online takeout system and managed to keep up with the demand of loyal patrons who still wanted Ghanaian and Nigerian dishes but wouldn’t eat out in public.

“We never closed. I know a lot of places closed for a couple of weeks,” she said. We reopened to full service a little later than others, but we needed to rebuild our staff, and we wanted to do it right.”

Catherine credits resilience, reputation, and customer loyalty for their continued success.

“We have customers who have been with us from the beginning,” she explained. “I wouldn’t want to go through that again, but [my husband] was able to keep us going, whereas maybe some other owners weren’t necessarily able to do that.”

Come for the food, stay for the ambiance

Now that everything is back up to speed, the Owusus continue offering an excellent West African dining experience. During the day, the focus is more on takeout and quick orders. But in the evening, the operation turns to upscale dining.

“We aim to educate people,” she said. “I know there are some who come, and they just want to try West African food. They’re not familiar with it.”

She and the staff have no problem explaining the options.

“We’ll even try and equate the food to the familiar,” she said. “For instance, I will ask someone, ‘Where are you from? Where is your family from?’”

Those familiar with Black American soul food can relate to black-eyed peas, rice and okra.

Someone with Caribbean roots might be steered toward a whole grilled fish, plantains and spicier options.

“We might have someone who just wants to try a certain dish like fufu,” she said.

More Americans are familiar with African fare thanks to food and travel channels and social media.

“There was a big fufu challenge on TikTok or Instagram not long ago,” she said. “So, we had quite a few people who would say, ‘I want to try fufu.’”

“It’s a starch that you eat with something else,” she said. “There are soups and stews that go with fufu.”

For the complete experience, the eatery offers live music on some Friday evenings.

“We have good food portions and a really good quiet but comfortable atmosphere,” she said. “My husband has excellent music. He plays anything from Marley to Afrobeat to jazz to pop. And we’ve had customers who will ask for a copy of his playlist.”

The Owusus work hard to make Cafe Songhai very personable and unique based on the food, the atmosphere and the art.

Cafe Songhai
3380 Holcomb Bridge Rd
Peachtree Corners, GA 30092
www.cafesonghai.com
470-359-2969

Find two dozen more international restaurants in Peachtree Corners here!

Photos by Tracey Rice