INDIANAPOLIS – You’ll be able to get a taste of more global cuisine as the city’s west side, known as the International Marketplace, will receive money to help the area expand.
The International Marketplace, located within the area known as Lafayette Square, will use $750,000 from a district tax credit to help its restaurants and grocery stores grow.
Owner of Al-Rayan Restaurant, Abdul Abashaar, is proud of the progress his restaurant has made and the quality of the food, that is sometimes served in booths, similar to those found in his Yemen homeland.
This restaurant is a part of the International Marketplace, which is roughly a 12-block corridor near Lafayette Square.
"America as a whole is a land of opportunities,” said Abashaar. “Sometimes we have people lined up."
The business is doing so good, that it has to expand.
To make that move to a bigger space, the International Marketplace Coalition provided a $20,000 grant. Not only are restaurant owners excited, customers are as well.
“I like the spices. They have a lot of vegetarian food as well, but the spices are a little different than regular American food,” said Eugene Beard, who dines at Abyssinnia often, an Ethiopian restaurant not too far from Al-Rayon.
The International Marketplace is expecting four new restaurants to open in the first quarter of the year.
