Mom and Pop's Diner adds a taste of West Africa
Mom and Pop’s Diner at 805 W. Broadway is scheduled to open on Tuesday. Owners Kossiwe and Foster Ekoue-Totu, from left, and their staff Krystal Deschene, Scott Deschene, Juanita Davis and Mesan Ekoue-Totu plan to make it unique dining experience.
MOSES LAKE — Foster Ekoue-Totou sat in the dining room meeting with one group after another. His wife and business partner Kossiwe dealt with staff and talked of the menu items. The scurry of activity seemed endless.
It’s hard work getting ready to go to work, but Moses Lake’s newest family dining experience promises to be a good one.
Foster and Kossiwe Ekoue-Totou plan to open Mom and Pop’s Diner at 805 W. Broadway Ave. on Tuesday with good food and a little music to help celebrate their grand opening.
“I would say the signature of our food will be the spices we use,” said Foster, who will run the business side, while Kossiwe runs the kitchen. “We’ll use our country of origin's spices and mix it up.”
Said Kossiwe, “Arrow Mangy, which is a combination of onion, black pepper, paprika, curry, ginger and thyme, will be used in all our dishes,” Kossiwe said. “We’ll also have cous-cous, which is a rice side dish, which goes with fish or chicken. It has a nice tomato sauce base with other ingredients.”
The Ekoue-Totous, originally from Togo, West Africa, spent 20 years in Boston before moving to Moses Lake seven years ago. They have been in the restaurant business for 20 years now.
The menu will include anything from steak, chicken and seafood to barbecue. They plan to bring the smoker back into action, although they haven’t decided what type of wood to use just yet.
“We’re very, very excited about this. We’ve been working to get it ready almost three months now,” Foster said. “We’re looking forward to having people come and taste our food and meet our family. That’s what this business is all about, family.”
Kossiwe and Foster’s son Mesan will also be involved with the business, as will employees Krystal and Scott Deschene and Juanita Davis.
They plan to serve a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu.
“We’ll have a variety of sandwiches and lunch items. But we will also have breakfast for lunch for people wanting to eat from that menu,” Foster said. “We will have two shifts, starting at 6 a.m. for the breakfast crowd and stay open through dinner at 8 p.m.”
The newest dining experience is expected to have a taste of West Africa served up with good, old American family-style manners. Throw in a little barbecue and dinner is served.