Ethiopian Woman Connects Her Community

When Tutu Belay moved from Louisiana to Washington, D.C., 16 years ago, she started a successful business, unified the local Ethiopian community and fell in love.

Not too shabby for a brand-new District resident.

Now, Belay has a new endeavor – a restaurant in the heart of little Ethiopia, a neighborhood on 9th and U streets in Northwest D.C.

Originally from Ethiopia, Belay moved to the District after finishing college at Baton Rouge University.

“I came here because I had many relatives and friends and D.C. is more of an international city,” she said.

However, finding Ethiopian-based businesses proved to be a challenge. She was surprised there was no directory to connect the community.

Inspired to change this, Belay gathered phone numbers for local Ethiopian businesses and organizations, which she had heard of by word of mouth.

“At first it wasn’t a market, it was an interest to serve the community,” Belay said.

As community interest grew, Belay’s project became a business itself and grew into her career.

The first directory, now known as the Ethiopian Yellow Pages, was published in 1994. It was a thin volume with only 80 pages. Today's version is quite different – with more than 900 pages, it is nearly two inches thick.

“It’s big and 90 percent of the people who got in there, stay there,” said Belay, in reference to the growing volume.

The Ethiopian Yellow Pages is preparing for its 16th publication and is considered essential by many in the community.

“It’s a plus for a community to have its own yellow pages,” Belay said.

“It is the 411 for us,” said Yehunie Belay, Tutu Belay’s husband and vice president of the yellow pages. The directory has grown to include both Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian businesses in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

“She is a community leader,” Yehunie Belay said of his wife’s efforts.

Yehunie Belay, a popular Ethiopian musician and entertainer, has produced eight albums and one DVD. He travels often to perform, having made recent trips to Australia, New Zealand and France.

On a concert tour 16 years prior, Yehunie Belay visited the District and spotted Tutu Belay in the audience.

“I was on the stage and I saw her. I danced with her and we’ve been together 16 years,” he said.

The powerhouse couple work closely together and have two children, a 12-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl.

“Everything she’s behind me, everything I’m behind her,” Yehunie Belay said of their marriage and business. “We’re together 24 hours. We work together and we go home together. I’m blessed.”

One of the newest listings in the Ethiopian Yellow Pages is the Belays' own restaurant, aptly named Little Ethiopia Restaurant. 

Unassuming from the outside, the restaurant is located in the basement of a row house on 9th Street. Customers walk down a flight of stairs to find the front door. Once inside, however, the restaurant’s interior is striking. Traditional Ethiopian artwork and instruments hang on the chocolate-colored walls, while Ethiopian music plays in the background. Circular straw roofs hang from the ceiling over tables made from basket-like material and wooden-carved chairs.

“If you go to Ethiopia, you will see this kind of atmosphere,” Yehunie Belay said, of the décor shipped directly from Ethiopia.

He hopes visitors will be inspired by the restaurant to visit Ethiopia. He also wants his children to understand where he came from.

“Born in the United States, my son can do anything, but it’s important for him to know where I grew up,” Yehunie Belay said, pointing to a photograph of his son hanging on the wall.

Little Ethiopia Restaurant is a welcome addition to the community, according to Yared Mamo, manager of Habesha, an Ethiopian market and carry-out restaurant located across the street from the Belays' new business.

“Unfortunately, there are restaurants that open for a few months then close,” Mamo said, but he thinks the Belays' restaurant will be an exception.

“The [Yellow Pages] are very powerful. Many Ethiopians as well as Americans use it. That’s why I’m quite sure she’ll make it,” he said.

Asmelash Bihen, one of the Belays' customers, has lived in the United States for 15 years. He said Little Ethiopia Restaurant feels like home.

“It’s more traditional. It’s a restaurant that has artifacts that are manifestations of Ethiopian ancestry,” he said.

Belay hopes the neighborhood, now somewhat spotted with closed storefronts, will one day be a tourist destination full of thriving businesses. “If we have a place that’s not open, we want it to open,” Belay said.

Little Ethiopia Restaurant is at 1924 9th Street NW Washington, D.C., 20001. For more information call 202-319-1924.