Spice Kitchen West African Grill has gone from a ghost kitchen to a kiosk in a food hall to now its own restaurant.

After a successful run as a tenant at the miXt Food Hall in Brentwood, the popular West African eatery has moved into its own space at 3124 Queens Chapel Rd., in the same shopping center as the new Lidl, which opened its doors on Valentine’s Day.

Owner Olumide Shokubi started Spice Kitchen in 2020 as a ghost kitchen at Mess Hall, a restaurant incubator near the Brookland neighborhood of D.C. The next year, it moved into miXt.

Its menu includes items like fried wings, grilled shrimp and chicken; side dishes such as jollof rice, fried plantains and spinach Efo-Riro, a popular Nigerian vegetable stew; and desserts like puff puffs, which are sweet fried dough balls.

Shokubi, a first-generation Nigerian-American who was born and raised in Prince George’s County where he currently lives, puts a special focus on on suya, a spicy meat skewer that is a popular street food in West Africa.

In 2022, it made Washingtonian‘s list of 10 great new cheap eats in the greater D.C. area, while The Washington Post said his aim was to “Chipotle-fy” Nigerian cuisine by making it accessible to everyone.

Spice Kitchen is open from noon to 9 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays.

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