Photo via Facebook / Adom African Market

Adom African Market (8084 N. 76th St.), offering authentic West African and Caribbean groceries and beauty supplies, was born when founder Faustina “Tina” Owusu Dankwah noticed a dearth of African grocery stores in Wisconsin. After 12 years in business, the market has become a go-to destination for not just food but for guidance and friendship.

“I will teach customers about these foods and show them how to make African dishes,” says Owusu Dankwah. “If you come in with a recipe, I can walk you through and show you what you need.”

Owusu Dankwah is from Ghana and moved to the United States in 1995. She lived in Calumet City, Ill. and later Chicago. She remained in the Windy City during the first decade that she operated Adom African Market, commuting back and forth. She moved to Milwaukee two years ago. In Akan, one of the languages spoken in Ghana, “adom” means “grace of God.”

Owusu Dankwah grew up eating West African staples such as fufu, a dough made from starchy root vegetables like cassava root or plantains. It’s often paired with fish or spinach stew, peanut soup or pepper soup. Rice, beans, yams and tomato sauce are also used in many dishes of the region. At Adom African Market, customers can easily find ingredients to craft those dishes and more—fufu flour, cassava flour, canned or dried bulk beans, yams and more.

Bulk foods include fava grits, farina, semolina, dry yam powder, flours, oats and jasmine rice. Owusu Dankwah also carries a mix to make banku, a fermented corn dough or cassava-fufu dough common in Ghana.

Stay on top of the news of the day Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.

Among the aisles, one can also find dried fish, snails, anchovies, plantains, and canned pantry staples such as palm cream (used for sauces, stews and soups), jack mackerel and butter beans. Other goods that line the shelves are 100% pure coconut oil, African palm oil, fruit drinks and syrups, Jamaican coffee, teas Jamaica and Kenya, jerk marinades, spices, sauces and packaged snacks.

“I carry a little bit from every culture, from countries like Jamaica, Haiti, Guinea, Togo and Ghana,” says Owusu Dankwah “I’ve got palm wine from Nigeria.” Palm wine is fermented from the sap of palm tree species including the palmyra, date palms and coconut palms.

Owusu Dankwah gets most of her goods shipped directly from suppliers in West African nations. Perishable items come from distributors in Chicago, New York and Washington State.

Health and beauty items include dried hibiscus, shea butter, which Owusu Dankwah says is good for skin and hair, cocoa butter and black soap, imported from Nigeria. The soap is cherished for its exfoliating properties.

Since opening, Owusu Dankwah says she gets customers locally as well as from Madison, Appleton and some that drive from up to five hours away. She hopes to someday offer catering.

Long-time customer Maria Etim cites several reason why she shops at Adom African Market, including variety and good process. But the main draw is Owusu Dankwah herself. “She’s really friendly! At some stores, you walk in and nobody will say anything to you,” Etim says.

Interacting with her customers is Owusu Dankwah’s favorite part of running Adom African Market. “I like engaging with them one-on-one and love making them feel like family. I know most of them by name. I talk to them, and even if they don’t buy anything, I still listen. God made everything easy for me to do this business.”

For more information, visit adomafricanmarket.com.

Sheila Julson is a freelance writer who enjoys capturing the stories behind Milwaukee’s happening food, beverage and urban farming scenes. She also pens articles about holistic health, green living, sustainability and human-interest features.

Sign up for daily email updates!

Get the latest news from Shepherd Express delivered directly to your inbox.

© 2022 Shepherd Express. All Rights Reserved.