2 weeks Ago By Eric Tanaka
San Francisco's Lower Nob Hill is getting a new culinary player on the block with the opening of Meski, a restaurant that blends the flavors of the African diaspora into a unique Afro-Latino and Ethiopian-Dominican fusion. The powerhouse behind this new venture includes Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green, Chef Nelson German of alaMar Dominican Kitchen fame, and Guma Fassil, the current overseer of Berkeley's longstanding Ethiopian eatery, Meskie's. As per NBC Bay Area, the grand opening is on April 5.
The unlikely team-up emerged from a serendipitous encounter when Fassil was hanging out with Green and his wife, leading them to German's Sobre Mesa, where the encounter sparked the business idea, "This is kind of a product of a brainchild of Afro-Latin, Ethiopian-Dominican fusing," Fassil remarked, as the restaurant also serves as a tribute to his late mother from whose name Meski is derived. German chimed in on the partnership, as per NBC Bay Area, "We come from the one diaspora, that's the African diaspora," noting the deep-rooted connection they share in their heritage: "Whether I'm Dominican, whether he's Ethiopian, we're all one people."Traction for the restaurant has already seen a boost from social media posts like the one from Christine Chun-i Ni on Instagram, who teased the "VIBEEEE" of the new spot, highlighting the intentional attention to cuisine, presentation, and hospitality and pointing out the designs by @blkgirls_greenhouse & @taylor.
smalls as per her Instagram post. The space at 1000 Larkin St. aims to celebrate Black culture in a city where, as Green told the San Francisco Chronicle, it's hard to find such representation, stating, "I want to create a staple in this city that people can go to and regardless if you are actually a part of that culture, you can feel that and feel welcome.
" View this post on Instagram A post shared by Christine Chun-i Ni (@christineni).
