Clark County commissioners in Nevada began work in August 2019 on designating a stretch of Decatur Boulevard in Las Vegas as “Little Ethiopia,” home to dozens of Ethiopian-owned businesses, the Las Vegas Sun reported.
Injera served with eight kinds of stew, photographed on April 23, 2023. (Artem.G / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0) [file photo]
At their Aug. 6, 2019, meeting, at the request of Commissioner Justin Jones, commissioners directed county staff to draw up a policy for cultural district designations, the first of its kind in the county, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and county records.
Nevada Assemblyman Alexander Assefa, believed to be the first Ethiopian-American elected to public office in the United States, was a driving force behind the effort, the Sun said. “(The designation) means recognizing that the community is part of the fabric of Las Vegas,” he said.
The area runs along Decatur Boulevard between Tropicana Avenue and Spring Mountain Road. At Melkam Market, manager Salem Tigabu said customers paid $18 for a package of Tomoca coffee because it reminded them of home. Fitsumberhan Mehari, co-owner of Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant on West Flamingo Road, said he came to Las Vegas as a refugee in 2008, a common story among Ethiopian-born residents of southern Nevada.
Mini Yohannes, co-owner of NU Ethiopian Kitchen, said she wanted to introduce newcomers to Ethiopian cuisine, including eating with injera or by hand, though she also offered forks and knives.
The commission approved its first cultural district policy on Sept. 17, 2019. After pandemic-related delays, commissioners adopted a resolution on June 20, 2023, making Little Ethiopia Clark County's first cultural district, the Review-Journal reported.
Sources: Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Sun photo gallery, Las Vegas Review-Journal (2019), Las Vegas Review-Journal (2023), Clark County resolution establishing Little Ethiopia (PDF)