Walk into Dama Restaurant and Pastry off Columbia Pike in Arlington, and you’ll probably find a group of regulars sipping coffee, splitting pastries, and chatting with one of the owners.
People gather at the Ethiopian establishment at all hours of the day because it has a lot to offer, particularly to members the D.C. region’s Ethiopian diaspora. Dama is part café, part restaurant, and part market and was opened decades ago by a group of siblings from central Ethiopia who had their community in mind.
At the market, customers can purchase injera or teff flour to make their own spongy bread, along with other Ethiopian staples. They can also pick up newspapers printed in Amharic, plus business cards and flyers of those offering legal and social services in both Amharic and English.
The cafe serves traditional American breakfast like French toast or Ethiopian breakfast like chechebsa (which is spiced torn flatbread), while the restaurant has classic Ethiopian dishes like tibs (cubed beef with onions, jalapenos, and spices) and kitfo (a finely chopped raw beef dish).
“This is a place where the community comes together and that is the part I love most,” co-owner Hailu Dama tells DCist/WAMU.
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