New owners take the cuisine at Ben Moore’s halfway around the world

Mercy Kariuki-McGee and her husband, Matt, who play in a band called Mazigazi — which means “illusion” in Swahili — were jamming away one night at Ben Moore’s Restaurant & Pub, thinking they were saying farewell to the iconic downtown Olympia business.

Their understanding was that the business was about to be sold. Little did they know it was going to be sold to them.

The next day they visited Minh Smith — who, at the time, still owned Ben Moore’s — at her noodle business at the Olympia Farmers Market. Smith told them the sale of the business had fallen through. But would they be interested?

Matt was teaching music to elementary school students and Mercy, who earned her master’s degree in environmental studies at The Evergreen State College, had taught dance, worked with children, and worked for the state Department of Transportation.

Mercy, who grew up in Kenya, also had taught cooking classes at Bayview School of Cooking at the Thriftway on Budd Inlet.

In other words, running a restaurant was new to them. But Mercy said she has a passion for food, so she and Matt decided to take it on with two goals in mind: to bring something different to Olympia for people to try, and, for those who know Kenyan or African food, to make it as authentic as possible.

Before they did anything, though, they gave the old restaurant a serious deep cleaning.

And then they started slowly, beginning with just a happy hour menu in July before they expanded to serving dinner. Even then, they limited that menu to two pages, wanting to focus on simple, back-to-basics comfort food — the kind of food that Mercy grew up eating. They also got feedback from friends and family about the food they planned to serve.

It has worked: Not only are customers coming to the bar for the happy hour menu, but now people are coming for the larger menu, Matt said.

One of the more popular dishes is the Afrika platter, which offers a choice of entrees and includes a side, such as rice, and either Ugali, which is similar to cornbread, or Afrikan frybread, which is similar to a tortilla but a little thicker.

The entrees:

▪ Shiro’s East Afrikan Dengus: Curried mung beans, fresh veggies and herbs, seasoned with a ginger spice blend and sprinkled with cheddar.

▪ Papa Joe’s: Spinach and kale, slow cooked with cashews and coconut milk, sauteed chicken and sprinkled with cotija cheese.

▪ Sukuma wiki mixed greens: Shredded kale, fresh veggies and herbs, slow cooked with marsala wine and savory spices.

▪ Githeri: Mixed beans, stewed with fresh veggies and herbs, seasoned with a turmeric-cumin spice blend.

The entrees are served as a wrap, or over rice, and drizzled with house-made taziki, the menu reads. Commonly used ingredients: paprika, turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger and garlic.

There’s something for everyone. If the entrees don’t appeal to you, there are starters — roasted red hummus, for example — specials, pasta, salads and sandwiches, including a classic cheese burger.

Beverages include Kenyan coffee, which Mercy described as rich in flavor, as well as Kenyan chai tea, which tends to be spicy, she said. They also serve organic, fair-trade African wine and African-inspired cocktails.

Besides food and drink, Mercy and Matt’s Ben Moore’s has a busy entertainment schedule: dancing, poetry, open mic and live music throughout the week and on weekends.

Do they have plans to change the name of the business? They are considering a change to “Wanjiru,” which is Mercy’s middle name.

This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 7:00 AM with the headline "New owners take the cuisine at Ben Moore’s halfway around the world."