After five years of hopping from one parking lot to the next street corner, Gainesville’s M&D West African Cuisine food truck is planting roots in a permanent storefront this month.  

M&D’s will open a dining room next door to Ward’s Supermarket at 501 NW 23rd Ave., Ste. A, and keep the food truck up and running. The restaurant will hold the same hours as the food truck, from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and from 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Fridays.  

Husband and wife owners, Michael Obi, 38, and Deosha Obi, 34, said a storefront has always been the ultimate goal now that the food truck has whetted appetites for West African flavors.  

“Being able to have something that’s enclosed where you can come and sit and eat, that’s the most exciting part about everything,” Deosha said.  

The couple met and married after Michael moved to Gainesville from Nigeria for work. Not seeing any other restaurants in town offering African cuisine, Michael wanted to share his culture’s food and asked Deosha about starting M&D’s. The operation quickly became their full-time job. 

The truck traveled to numerous locations over the years and recently landed at the Marathon gas station on 13th Street. Deosha said the food truck scene is a tight-knit community and business owners are usually good about letting them use their property with just a simple ask.  

The key to growth, she said, has been consistency and staying near campus to reach the students first.  

“It’s really a college student town. I think once we get them to like the food, because they travel all from all over just to come eat the food, then you can try to go out and reach the community, everybody else,” she said. “And they love the food.” 

Reviewers of M&D’s have described its flavors as authentically Nigerian, most likely because it is. 

Each recipe comes from Michael’s grandmother and is prepared with ingredients shipped every month from Nigeria by Michael’s father. 

Jollof rice with chicken, honey suya wings, and don’t forget a side of starchy fufu dough to dip in the okra soup.  

“My first time trying authentic African cuisine and I’m completely blown away!!” said Facebook user Raechelle Gretencord. “This is probably the best food I’ve ever tasted.” 

Deosha said she and Michael only started looking for restaurant storefronts once they were ready to avoid getting their hopes up. She said the one they found will be easy for their customers since it’s close to where their truck currently sits.  

Making money at the restaurant should come more easily since rent is cheaper and the dining requires different insurance than a food truck. The couple plans to keep running the food truck like a separate business along with the restaurant.  

For now, the Obis will keep preparing the new dining room to open this month.  

“It’s something that we love to do. We want everybody to be able to taste the culture of the food,” Deosha said.