On Monday, Feb. 19, Drexel Campus Dining, in collaboration with The Enterprise Center, hosted the grand opening of African Small Pot, a Southwest Philadelphia-based local restaurant in Southwest Philadelphia concept, as the next featured business in Northside Dining Terrace.
African Small Pot offers a variety of the best culinary cuisines from West African, American, and Italian cultures. Their menu offers traditional dishes such as chicken kabobs, jollof rice, mussels, and more.
African Small Pot’s owner, Abdarahmane Diop (pronounced dee-ōp), is a Mauritanian native who started his cooking career working on Goree Island in Senegal almost 40 years ago. He has committed his life to developing his culinary skills and expressing his love of people through his food. After many years as a chef in an Italian restaurant in Philadelphia, Chef Diop realized his dream of bringing original food from the Motherland to Philadelphia. In 2012, he opened the African Small Pot restaurant at 6133 Woodland Avenue in Southwest Philly.
Nicholas Mendez, the Resident District Manager of Aramark for Drexel Campus Dining, shares that Aramark’s Local Restaurant Row concept “welcomes local restaurateurs to share their cuisine with the campus community is a proven method to introduce diversity, genuine flavors, and enjoyment. The pop-up location also presents an opportunity for local business owners to connect directly with patrons, collect feedback and assess their menu offerings to help grow their business.”
Drexel Campus Dining invites the Drexel community and the Powelton Village neighborhood to visit Northside Dining Terrace at 203 North 34th Street to try African Small Pot through the winter quarter. They’ll serve dinner weekly Monday – Thursday, from 4 to 10 p.m.
About the Enterprise Center
The Enterprise Center’s Culinary Enterprises Commercial Kitchen supports local businesses in West Philadelphia by creating dynamic and engaging pop-up shops that showcase retail products and culinary masterpieces from diverse small businesses.
For many years, Aramark at Drexel University has included products from the Enterprise Center in its campus dining program. Recently, Drexel Campus Dining started selling items from the Enterprise Center to support small businesses in the Market at the Northside Dining Terrace. In Fall 2023, Drexel Campus Dining relaunched Local Restaurant Row, welcoming authentic ethnic cuisine.