Julia Williams

Editor-in-Chief

When Hayle Abdulahi moved to Kansas City from Somalia, East Africa in the year 2000, he said he always knew he wanted to open his own business in Historic Northeast Kansas City. 

Abdulahi opened Baraka Market — a halal-based grocery store at 1447 Independence Ave. — in 2009 and it has operated out of this same location for the past 16 years. “Baraka,” Abdulahi shared in an interview, is a family name, which he said is famous within his community and means blessing or good attitude. 

While Baraka Market is Abdulahi’s first store in Kansas City, business owning is not new for him. In fact, he shared that this market along Independence Avenue very closely resembles a store his family owned in the ‘90s in Somalia. 

Abdulahi said he chose to open his store within the Northeast due to the community he has within the area.

Halal Products — or food permitted by Islamic dietary laws — that can be found at Baraka Market include anywhere from rice and spaghetti to camel and goat meat products. He additionally shared he carries food at the Market that cannot be found in other grocery stores. Baraka Market receives shipments from suppliers from all across the world including the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Abdulahi shared that most products come from other countries. 

While he said there are differences between owning a market in Africa and owning one in the U.S. — including products and customers — there is one thing that remains constant: good service. This, he shared, remains at the forefront of Baraka Market. 

“Whether here or in Africa, you have to have good service and deal with customers,” Abdulahi said. “You have to be patient, you can’t have a bad attitude or get mad; It can be challenging sometimes.”

However, he shared he enjoys having his own businesses and the freedom that comes with being his own boss. In fact, he hopes to instill this entrepreneurship within his children and said he encourages them to follow in his footsteps. 

In addition to keeping the community in food, Abdulahi said he will also assist new customers with free transportation. To request services, he said for Market customers to just ask and he will drive them where they need to go, for free. 

For additional information on Baraka Market, visit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Baraka%20Market/119032081482562/#.