Moncton entrepreneurs proud their African grocery store offers a taste of home

Lining the aisles of B’s Kilimanjaro African Store in Moncton, N.B., are items that are meant to transport customers out of the city and back to the place the owners call home.

“Being an African in Canada, it is experiential to still feel the roots of an African,” said storeowner, Adams Mumuni.

Mumuni moved to Moncton five years ago from Toronto with his wife, Kadi Diatou Sore, and their two children.

“I was quite surprised by the diversity,” said owner Kadi Diatou Sore. “It’s quite diverse here. Personally, for me, I was shocked. I see people from different backgrounds and it was really interesting for me.”

Jumping on the chance to provide essential products for the community and the opportunity to make people feel more at home, the couple took over the store just eight months after it first opened.

“Culturally, having your food here in Moncton is paramount and that fulfills me a lot, being able to provide people with what they should be having at their home so they don’t feel that home sick,” said Mumuni.

The couple is originally from West Africa and it was important for them to find a way to combine where they grew up and where they live now.

“We always do miss home, but this is our home as well, so that is what makes it perfect. You get both at one place and you feel good that you bring home here,” said Sore. “It makes you happy.”

Not to mention, Moncton holds a special place in their hearts.

“Moncton is the best place that I’ve ever lived in,” said Mumuni, who has lived in multiple places including Cuba, Panama, Colombia and several places in Ontario.

They say that Moncton checked off all their boxes including a lot of diversity and a small town feel with all the amenities of a big city.

Sore, being an entrepreneur her whole life, had a pizza shop in the city before closing it down to take over Kilimanjaro.

“We have very specific products. That’s one of the beauties of it, you can’t find those products in Walmart or Superstore or anything, you find them just right at a small, ethnic store I will say, so it’s really quite rewarding," she said.

"It really gives me satisfaction to see other people from different backgrounds like the Latin community and the African community to come here, find their products and it makes me really happy to get to feel like home away from home.”

The African grocery store is open Monday to Saturday from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. weekly.

“This is an African store, but it offers beyond African stuff,” said Mumuni. “Canadian, amid other places, if you are thinking of something you would not find in Walmart, do not hesitate to visit us.”