The map of Philly’s Ethiopian cuisine scene has gotten a recent border expansion with Guzo Café, on 12th and Catharine streets.
Now in its third week, the 42-seat corner spot — including 10 seats at five outdoor tables — offers a daily selection of standard café fare, with espresso using beans from Fair Trade-sourced, worker-owned Equal Exchange, pastries from West Philly’s Four Worlds bakery, and house-made eats like lox bagels, avocado toast, and tuna and veggie sandwiches.
Weekends, however, bring an additional all-day Ethiopian lineup: a family-cooked menu of alicha (stewed carrots and peppers), gomen (collard greens), and misir (stewed red lentils), available for $6 each or collectively in a $20 combo, with a teff-flour injera that’s organic and free of gluten and grains.
Patrons can also expect complimentary shots of Ethiopian coffee, poured out of a traditional jebena clay pot into tiny sinni cups, alongside the Ethiopian drip coffee and aromatic, spiced iced tea blends on menu throughout the week.
It’s all part of “an adventure through Ethiopian cuisine and culture” which 36-year-old proprietor Wubet Negash told Billy Penn she hopes to provide patrons with, and one of the reasons why she chose “guzo” — Amharic for “journey” — as the name for her café.
The choice is also reflective of her own experience leading to Guzo’s launch. “I was on a journey after my dad passed,” Negash explained, “I wanted to see where he came from.”
Born in Sudan to an Ethiopian father and Eritrean mother, Negash moved to the U.S. with her family when she was 6, settling in West Philly. Years later, with a degree in nursing, she landed a job at Penn, until a 2019 car accident and prolonged recovery period forced her out of work.
Negash lost her father shortly after, during, but not due to covid, with pandemic restrictions meaning the family was able to send his body back for burial, but not accompany him.
When travel bans were lifted, she made her first trip to Ethiopia, exploring the cuisine and culture of her father’s homeland, and immediately noticing the social significance of coffee.
“Everywhere I turned, people had a cup of coffee in their hand,” she said, noting the ubiquity of rekebots — combination serving tray and utensil cupboards similar to the one by Guzo’s entrance, used for complimentary coffee drinks — on “almost every street corner in Ethiopia.”
While the cafe isn’t her first foray into business ownership — Negash previously ran West Philly coffee and hookah lounge Lalibela for four years before selling it in 2016 — she’s aiming for a more family-friendly environment with Guzo, suitable for kids, strollers, and dogs.
The family-focused vibe extends to the business side as well, with sister Aster helping behind the counter and taking on most of the Ethiopian menu’s cooking in the kitchen of their brother’s West Philly restaurant, Noah’s Pizza, where the siblings’ mother also makes the café’s injera. Negash balances overseeing operations in the kitchen and at the café with occasional freelance work as a nurse and medical technician.
While the Ethiopian menu is currently only offered on weekends, an expansion is being considered. “I want to make sure people like it and that they’re open to it,” Negash said, “because it also does take time to make.” So far signs have been good; the café has sold out on both weekends it’s been open.
“The [response] has been so great, and very welcoming,” she said of the reception Guzo has received, with a neighborhood couple even taking it upon themselves to design and deliver a storefront logo after noticing the café’s lack of signage.
Ultimately, Negash said, the goal is to grow Guzo into a “vibrant, community-focused space” integrating local arts, crafts, and eventually, live music performances and poetry readings. A planned rotation of exhibitions currently features paintings by Philly-based Ethiopian illustrator and author Puya Yohannes, and up-cycled attire by High on Ashes. Negash does not collect a commission or exhibiting fee.
“It’s about communicating with people and being social,” Negash summed up the drive behind Guzo. “Whether I’m in a nursing home, or in a hospital, or at the café, it’s about getting to know someone and meeting their needs. So, I feel like I’m still giving back.”
800 S 12th Street | 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday | $3-$20 | Outdoor seating available | (267) 290-8438 | @guzocafe
