Our guest today is Fannie Gibson, owner of Fannie’s African and Tropical Cuisine, which serves authentic traditional food from all parts of West Africa.

At Fannie’s restaurant, their food is handcrafted from scratch with fresh, healthy, hearty, organic and natural ingredients. Fannie’s restaurant embraces the African lifestyle, and the menu is designed to reflect ethnic, cultural and traditional themes.​

Their dishes are flavorful and spiced according to their customers’ preferences from mild to spicy. Their mission is to have people from all walks of life within the Kansas City and surrounding areas enjoy amazing native African cooking under one roof.

During our discussion, Fannie also shares:

• How she came from Liberia to Kansas City
• Why she wanted to open a restaurant
• How the pandemic affected her business
• How she started her business
• Challenges in her business
• How her business is growing
• Economic challenges she faces
• Her favorite dish to cook
• What advice she would give entrepreneurs

Use the timestamps below to skip around to the specific topics you’d like to hear.

[0:55] – Meet Fannie

[1:37] – How she got from Liberia to Kansas City

[2:26] – Opening a restaurant

[4:43] – How business is going

[6:15] – How she started her business

[8:32] – East versus West African food

[9:51] – Challenges

[10:56] – Growth

[12:00] – Economic environment

[12:40] – Favorite dish

[13:46] – How to find Fannie’s restaurant

[14:39] – Advice for entrepreneurs