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Ida MaMusu, chef-owner of Africanne on Main. (Photo by Jay Paul)
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Vegetarian plantian medley. (Photo by Eileen Mellon)
After more than 25 years of business, things are coming full circle for Chef Ida MaMusu of Africanne on Main.
In early June, the Liberian native will move from her established corner downtown to the former Pit & The Peel space at 1102 W. Main St. in the heart of Virginia Commonwealth University's campus. Offering extended hours, an expanded menu, and a greater focus on vegetarian and vegan fare, MaMusu, 66, says this is her next chapter.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” she says. “People used to say, ‘a small space doing great things, when I was at 2nd and Main [Streets], and this is a bigger space, so I’m doing bigger things. This will accommodate everything I want to do.”
Africanne on Main was the first restaurant to specialize in West African cuisine in Richmond, MaMusu educating diners with her pay-by-the pound buffet-style offerings.
MaMusu arrived in Richmond in 1980 after fleeing war-torn Liberia. Back then, she operated a small hair salon out of her basement, and as customers sat for sometimes upwards of 10 hours at a time, MaMusu would feed them. Soon the requests for her food poured in, and she was filling up to 50 orders a day. In 1995, she opened her original restaurant at 2043 W. Broad St., currently Savory Grain, before moving to the smaller space downtown.
MaMusu says the pandemic granted her the opportunity to contemplate the future, and the time to bring her dreams to fruition.
“This is the right moment,” she says matter-of-factly. “I'm spiritual and I believe that we were all given a time-out to evaluate our life. This restaurant fell in my lap, and one of the things I’ve been contemplating doing is taking the restaurant to 70% vegetarian and I know the VCU students have a huge community for vegans and vegetarians.”
The area near the college campus is familiar to MaMusu. From 2008-2010, while struggling to keep business afloat during the recession, she operated a hot dog cart in front of the VCU Commons.
“It’s ironic I could find something right there, because when I had a cart, I used to see how those restaurants did, and I used to pray and think, ‘If I could get a spot there, I know I would do well,’ ” she says, noting she hopes to appeal to international students.
Now, MaMusu is focused on her five-year plan which includes solidifying a team she can trust, and eventually exiting the Richmond restaurant scene.
“It’s a new era. In fact, this is the last hooray for me. I am putting everything into making sure I have the right space and the right neighborhood to do the things I really want to do that I’ve been putting off,” she says. “I am giving myself five years, and then I am going to move on.”
MaMusu says her goal is to host her own cooking or travel show, a dream she’s had since she was a little girl, and to finish writing her book.
To ensure the eventual transition is seamless, MaMusu recently hired three chefs with West African roots, and is currently working with them in the kitchen.
“I am training them and overseeing everything,” she s. “I’m doing it in a way that I would be able to move on and you won’t miss me — the food won’t change, it will be the same.”
MaMusu, who greets her customers with a hug as if they are family, will surely be missed. MaMusu's sister, Victoria Carter, will join her as co-owner at the forthcoming iteration of Africanne on Main. A professional baker, Carter will head the restaurant’s pastry program, introducing papaya and sweet potato cakes and breads and scones.
Formerly only open on weekdays from noon to 4 p.m., the new location will offer both lunch and dinner, and can seat about 40 people in the dining room. Instead of two buffets piled high with steaming jollof rice and akara fritters, there will be six.
MaMusu adds that she plans to introduce an all-you-can-eat option during dinner and will offer local beer, along with wine from nearby New Kent Winery. She is also preparing to launch a new website that will be dedicated to showcasing international recipes from local chefs, in addition to an online marketplace.
“This has been in the making for a while, that I wanted to expand, but was just trying to find the right location that I could imagine moving forward in,” she says. “It’s a whole new world and I am not afraid. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
Africanne on Main will be open Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
