For the last 14 years, culinary artist Dozzy Ibekwe has been working to make West African dishes more popular in the city. He says that from Montrose Avenue to the South Suburbs, there are only about five West African restaurants. He’s hoping to change that with help from the Rebuild Foundation’s Retreat at Currency Exchange Café.
“Rebuild is all about bringing life into dead spaces,” Ibekwe said. “I’ve seen that manifest in my experience here.”
Located on East Garfield Boulevard, just blocks away from Hyde Park, Currency Exchange Café serves as an incubator for culinary artists looking to expand their crafts without the stresses that come with starting a business.
“We used the various spaces inside of this building to support a multitude of artists,” says Barédu Ahmed, programming manager with Retreat at Currency Exchange Café and head of music programming for the Rebuild Foundation. “So we have a bar,…
