Moya Plans Return to SOMA
A popular SOMA Ethiopian restaurant that closed after a fire will resurface later this year on 9th street.
Moya Ethiopian Restaurant & Cafe opened in July 2010, with the help of funding from the SF Redevelopment Agency, as part of a project to revitalize areas around sixth street, managed by an NGO named Urban Solutions.
Moya means “gourmet” in Ethiopia’s Amharic language. The restaurant’s complex flavors and spices earned many devoted fans. And the fact that you had to eat with your hands (using injera flatbread to scoop the food) was not a deterrent.
Fans were saddened, after a 4-alarm fire (May 4th 2011) inside the adjacent hotel severely damaged the restaurant, and subsequently was forced to close in June. But like the phoenix rising from its ashes, I’m happy to report that Moya will reopen soon.
This week owner Fanael Alemayehu announced on her website that her restaurant had found a new home. The new space is located at 121-9th Street (corner @Minna Street), scheduled to open in December. One advantage of the new space are big windows all around, which provide more natural light, compared to the old narrow space.
Photo Credit: KTVU
