Today we’d like to introduce you to Solomon Hailie and Rekik Abaineh. They would like to share their story with us below:
Bolé Ethiopian Cuisine is named after the neighborhood in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where co-owners Solomon Hailie and Rekik Abaineh were born and raised. The restaurant was formerly located in Midway where customers knew it as a cozy family friendly restaurant with excellent Ethiopian cuisine. During the civil unrest in the Twin Cities, the restaurant burned to the ground due to a fire that started in a neighboring business. Our Bolé brand is all about community. We pride ourselves in showing up for the community and during this unfortunate time the community showed up for Bolé. The Bolé team believed where there’s a will there’s a way!
Bolé relocated to its new location in December of 2020 with a promise to bring Bolé Ethiopian Cuisine to the next level. Bole was designed with excellence in mind. Excellent food, excellent service, and excellent experience. The restaurant officially opened its doors to customers in March 2021 in the Como neighborhood. While we are known for our mouth-watering Tibs and Kitfo which is made with authentic Ethiopian food, herbs, and spices, we are also known for our delicious veggie and meat entrées. From the way our traditional dishes are served to the creativity of our non-traditional dishes our restaurant strives to deliver on the excellence that our customers expect!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
In the last couple of years, there have been several challenges for those of us in the restaurant industry. When the Covid-19 pandemic started spreading in early 2020, mandates and stay-at-home orders impacted our business. At this time, we were planning for the expansion of our restaurant that was two years in the making. As we were dealing with the unexpected impact of the pandemic, our business was impacted during the riots in the Twin Cities. We were fortunate that no one was hurt and we were able to get our staff and ourselves out of the restaurant. The entire restaurant burned to the ground overnight and we had to decide how we wanted to rebuild our business.
After roughly 6 months of searching for a location, we found a restaurant that met our needs in the Como neighborhood. Throughout our first year of being in business, the pandemic continue to impact our business operations. New mandates and labor shortages present new challenges as we enter the coldest months of the year in 2022.
We’ve been impressed with Bole Ethiopian Cuisine, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Bolé Ethiopian Cuisine is driven to deliver the excellence that our customers expect. Our business’ mission is to provide an excellent dining experience, by delivering high quality Ethiopian cuisine and outstanding customer service. The business has five core values: Excellence, Quality, Reliability, Love, and Community! We are a family owned business dedicated to fostering memorable experiences within our restaurant.
Bolé Ethiopian Cuisine is the area’s favorite Ethiopian restaurant for exquisite Ethiopian food. Our chefs pride themselves in preparing only the finest quality meals. Whether you’re craving mild or spicy, sweet or savory, light or heavy, vegetarian or loaded with meat, our menu has it all. We have a wide selection of beer and wine as well as homemade bakery items!
Bolé has a beautiful patio that is open during the warmer months. The basement of the restaurant will open shortly for private dining parties and small to mid-size meetings. Additionally, customers are able to order meals online for take-out or delivery (available within a limited distance).
In a time when many of us are engrossed in our own lives, we want Bolé to be the destination spot where people come to connect with each other and disconnect from the stressors in their lives. By sharing a meal and a drink, we hope that people choose Bolé to reconnect with loved ones, meet new people, and celebrate milestones. This is just the beginning for our team at Bolé! Excellence is an ever evolving word for us!
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
Building relationships and serving the community as best as we can has worked well for us. We are always open to improving the experience and aiming higher every chance we get. There are many team members that are talented in various areas – be it finance, business, strategy, technology, etc. We welcome varying talents on our team and that has made us successful!
Our advice would be to remain agile and foster the relationships you have within the community.
Contact Info:
- Email: manager@teambole.com
- Website: https://boleethiopiancuisine.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bole_mn/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/boleusa/
Image Credits
Wild Rose Art Studio
