North Bergen Welcomes First Ethiopian Restaurant

Local diners have a great new option for exotic cuisine, with the Ethiopian restaurant Ghenet (meaning “heaven”) now open at 7312 Broadway. Mayor Nicholas Sacco joined the ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday, June 6 along with County Executive Thomas DeGise, Freeholder Anthony Vainieri, Commissioner Julio Marenco, and a crowd of supporters and neighbors.

“Where angels eat,” is the motto of the restaurant, which serves a wide variety of traditional Ethiopian dishes, both with meat and from an extensive vegetarian selection. Owner Yeworkwoha Ephrem, 72, emigrated to the U.S. during the Ethiopian civil war of 1974. She worked for many years at the United Nations before retiring and opening her first Ghenet Restaurant in Manhattan in 1998, moving it to Brooklyn 10 years later.

A 20-year resident of North Bergen, Ephrem is bringing Ghenet to her hometown. Purchasing a former hardware story in 2016, she remodeled it into an inviting eatery and installed a kitchen downstairs to prepare healthy, affordable cuisine.

Ethiopian food, she explains, is notable for its unique spices and cooking methods. “Once you taste it,” she says, “you’ll crave it.”