Ghanaian entrepreneur connects with his West African customers through food: Andrew Coppolino

Over the past year or so, Eddie Ameh has used a popular African tuber to grow his retail food business by calling himself the "The Yam Seller."

"The name is my claim to fame," said Ameh.

"I reached out to the Ghanaian community that I was going to Toronto to get some yams, and I was very surprised at the response. From picking up three boxes of yams, here I am with a 3,600-sq.-ft. store."

Located on Victoria Street N. in Kitchener, The Yam Seller Africa Superstore opened in May, 2021. 

The store is a former hair-design school, and sells African and Caribbean foods such as halal meats and specially-prepared goat that Ameh says is a favourite in parts of Africa.

There is also smoked fish like barracuda and pepper soup spice seasoning which is a blend of ginger, thyme and rosemary, according to Ameh.  

"We also have ripe plantains," he said. "Africans love ripe plantains."

A big box of red hot chili peppers sits waiting for customers at the end of an aisle that carries spices, lentils, and sauces and condiments.

As for the yams, they are not the sweet potato-like versions seen in chain grocery stores in Waterloo region.

Related to lilies and grasses, and native to Africa and Asia, there are dozens of yam varieties. They can vary in size from a small potato to ones weighing 50 kilograms.

Yams are starchier, drier and harder than potatoes — and versatile.

Ameh says that depending on their intended use, yams can be prepared in several ways, like a potato: they can be sliced thinly and fried for chips or cubed and boiled for soups or for mashing.

Nigerian Independence Day

Ameh's background is Ghanaian but he serves many customers with Nigerian heritage at the store.

"I worked briefly, a couple of months, in an African store in Virginia," he said. "But that's it."

On October 1, he helped those customers celebrate Nigerian Independence Day, which was first recognized in 1960.

"It was a way of appreciating these customers," Ameh said. "It's not just taking their money at the store. It's also giving back a little bit of what they have given me. It's a reason to celebrate with them."

For the event, Ameh called on a friend and other volunteers to fire up a barbecue outside of the store and grill up suya as a treat for visiting customers.

Popular across West Africa, suya is a northern Nigerian dish of skewered or thinly sliced smoked or grilled beef.

Much thinner than a steak barbecued in North America, the suya at Yam Seller was seasoned with a blend of several spices which made it a fiery mouthful. It's often served with an extra helping of a dried pepper blend as well. 

Along with the suya, Ameh's volunteers also served versions of fish and goat (chili) pepper soup along with jollof rice to go with traditional music and dance.

The origin of jollof rice, likely originating in the Senegambian geographical region of West Africa, dates to the 14th century: it's made with a rich sauce of ground pepper, tomatoes and tomato paste, according to Ameh. 

"The sauce gives it that jollof colour, and our cook added some ground beef and chicken," he said.

With the traffic hurtling by on busy Victoria Street, Ameh and his customers were enjoying the bright colours, the music and the suya barbecue aromas that were highlights of the day's relaxing festivities around West African cultures. 

But for Ameh, there was an underlying educational aspect to the yam-seller event, an even more important reason that he said motivated him to celebrate with and recognize his Nigerian customers. 

"Most of the kids born here don't have an idea of some of the foods and some of the culture," Ameh said.

"Displaying some traditional food, dances and music afforded this younger generation an opportunity to experience Nigerian culture."