EDGEWATER — A celebrated African restaurant in Uptown has moved to Edgewater and upgraded to a bigger space.
Tesfa Ethiopian Cuisine opened Friday in its new location at 5352 N. Broadway, the restaurant announced on social media.
The restaurant announced the move just north of the Uptown-Edgewater border in early October. The business spent seven years on Wilson Avenue in Uptown.
“A new and bigger space is coming soon. We are excited, and I hope you are, too,” management wrote in the announcement.
Tesfa opened in 2016 at 1023 W. Wilson Ave., inhabiting a small space in a one-story retail strip on the bustling street, according to The DePaulia. The family-owned restaurant expanded its dining area the following year.
The restaurant serves traditional Ethiopian cuisine, which is generally served communally and features vegetarian and meat stews on top of injera, or a sour flatbread. It also has Ethiopian breakfast foods.
Tesfa grew in popularity, garnering a positive review in the Reader and being featured on WGN’s “Chicago’s Best” series. Tesfa means “hope” in the Amharic language spoken in Ethiopia.
The Broadway storefront previously held Pearl’s Southern Comfort, which closed in June after eight years in business, Eater reported at the time. Ownership decided to focus on its other businesses, Toons in Lakeview and Beck’s in Lincoln Park, the outlet reported.
Pearl’s space includes a large removable bay window in the storefront and is about 3,000 square feet. The restaurant also operated patio seating and a rooftop bar.
It is not known if Tesfa will use the upstairs bar space. Tesfa appears to be retaining its BYOB status after the move, according to its social media.
Owners did not respond to requests for comment on the move.
Tesfa accepts reservations and is open 4-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sundays. For more information, click here.
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