Meet Ameneh Marhaba of Little Liberia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ameneh Marhaba.

Hi Ameneh, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today. 
My name is Ameneh Marhaba; I was born and raised in Liberia, my mother’s land. I also lived in Tripoli, Lebanon, my father’s land. I spent most of my life in Liberia with my mother and siblings. Although my mother did not have sufficient means, her best form of currency was her passion for cooking, which is how my mother was able to support us and how I learned to cook. As a little girl, I would help with prep work and cleaning up as my mother cooked in the kitchen. Cooking became our form of survival, and I learned a lot from my mother in the kitchen. Even though it started as a necessity, it developed into a passion later. After immigrating to the United States in 2010, that passion led me to conduct my first pop-up in Detroit. I started applying to different organizations to help my business grow. Out of 350 small businesses, I was crowned the 2022 Comerica Hatch Detroit contest winner. I took home the $100,000 grand prize, which will support my dream of moving into a brick-and-mortar location. 

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a minority, an immigrant, and a black woman in the culinary industry has come with a lot of challenges and obstacles. When I started this business, I didn’t have the resources I needed, nor did I have the access to capital to grow my business. As a young woman, I struggled with people simply taking me seriously and believing in me. It was a struggle, but good food always ends up on the right plate. When more people in the community started trying my food, the right people in the right places started reaching out to me and asking how they could help. I was able to get connected with ProsperUS Detroit, a small business entrepreneurship program, for four months. After I graduated from their 2021 cohort, my business was in a better place. I legally registered Little Liberia as an LLC, I applied to multiple organizations for funding, and I completed a full business plan with financial projections for my brick-and-mortar. Now, I’m working on obtaining the remaining funding needed to complete the buildout of the space and bring Liberian food to Detroit. 

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Little Liberia is an Afro-Fusion restaurant founded and owned by Ameneh Marhaba. Established in 2016, Little Liberia has since been Metro Detroit’s purveyor of Liberian beverages and multicultural cuisines, an admixture of African, Caribbean, and Antebellum-South African American influences. However, Little Liberia symbolizes much more than a restaurant. Little Liberia represents a Liberian woman’s arduous journey to the United States, growing and developing a business in the face of tremendous odds. Little Liberia is community-driven and intends to be a driver of change, providing job opportunities for those like themselves and more. They are a family and want to be a haven where all feel welcomed and valued as a part of that family. 

Alright, so before we go, can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you, or support you?
We are always looking for meaningful collaborations for talents, support, or artists. If anyone is interested in collaborating with Little Liberia, they can email us directly at [email protected] 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://littleliberia.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/little_liberia/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/littleliberia/