As the African community grows in Thunder Bay, the northwestern Ontario city is welcoming a new crop of African-inspired businesses — with at least three opening this fall. Meet some of the business owners who say they want their stores to cater to the wider community too.Nkiru-Denky Okpulor runs Thunder Bay African Restaurant on Memorial Avenue in the northwestern Ontario city.
Nkiru-Denky Okpulor, who runs the restaurant, said there wasn't much African food available when she first moved to Thunder Bay.The restaurant specializes in foods from West Africa. Okpulor said their most popular dishes include egusi soup, pounded yam, jollof rice and catfish peppersoup. Just over 9,000 immigrants live in Thunder Bay, representing nearly nine per cent of its population, according to the latest figures from Statistics Canada. Roughly half of those newcomers are from Europe, while the rest are split between Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South and Central America.Immigrants and other newcomers are a critical piece for the Thunder Bay economy going forward, according to a 2020 report from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada .
Sharon Bon, the owner of Dame Más Dance studio, says she's proud she brought Kizomba to Thunder Bay. Bon said that while many people in Thunder Bay had never heard of Kizomba, an Angolan dance, her classes have become so popular that she'll likely need to find a bigger studio.