Abby Hoover
Managing Editor

Tucked away in the Somali Mall at Independence Avenue and Olive Street, Hamar Weyne Restaurant is buzzing with activity and friendly conversation between old friends most mornings.

Owner Abdirashidi Baashe said Somali neighbors frequent the walk-up counter for breakfast on a daily basis, purchasing sambusas for one dollar each.

“They like it, the three dollar breakfast,” Baashe said of the large Somali community seeking a taste of home in Northeast. “They like the sambusa.”
Sambusas are triangular fried bread pockets filled with various types of savory fillings, including meat or fish mixed with spiced potatoes, peas, onions and lentils.

They serve them with hot black tea, chai lattes or coffee, and offer a variety of bottled drinks.

“Those guys are good guys,” Baashe said of the men who have been running the shop for 10 years.

The smell of their newest menu item wafted through the shopping center on a cold morning. Canjeero is a fermented, crepe-like pan bread that looks like a thin pancake, often sprinkled with some sugar and drizzled with sesame oil or melted ghee.