African restaurant plans to open Friday in Kansas City. Here’s how it got its name
Oluwatobi Temitope Adeleke is a bit of a mouthful. So some people call the Nigerian immigrant Chef T for short.
“When I’m cooking, they’ll say, ‘T, that’s tasty,’” she said. “That’s how the name of this restaurant came about.”
Teetasty Foods will open Friday at 3711 Southwest Trafficway. The space was previously occupied by Lilly’s Cantina, which has since moved to the West Side.
Adeleke grew up in Lagos and arrived in Kansas City about five years ago. She’s always cooked for friends and family and for the last decade has run a catering business as a side hustle while working jobs in the financial services industry.
“But my love for cooking has always superseded what I’ve done in finance,” she said. “And this year I decided, no more catering. Time for a physical location.”
Teetasty Foods’ menu centers around foods popular in West Africa: jollof rice, samosas, shawarmas and traditional soups like egusi, ogbono and efo riro. In addition to beer and liquor, the menu also features a section of “cultural drinks” like Emu (a palm wine) and Zobo (a hibiscus-based drink).
“We want people to see this food for what it is,” Adeleke said. “African food is not as popular in America as Chinese or Mexican food, so I want our customers to see how beautiful it can be, and to see us expressing ourselves through it.”
The restaurant offers counter service as well as table service, where customers can sit on brown leather couches and eat off white marble tables. Inside are three TVs and prints on the wall of famous Africans like Nelson Mandela and Fela Kuti.
Hours are Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, noon to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 2 to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. Teetasty is closed Tuesdays.
