How Motherhood Led to Also Creating a Business Rooted in Tradition

Eleni Woldeyes, found and owner of Eleni’s Kitchen, Ascend Portland alum

The beginning of Eleni’s Kitchen 

by Martha Flores Perez

With the arrival of her first child, Eleni Woldeyes encountered a problem that many moms face: managing new responsibilities with insufficient time. During her maternity time-off work, it gave her the time to have a partial answer to her problem. “Mothers who choose entrepreneurship as an attractive economic opportunity may be better able to start a business and grow it. [E]ntrepreneurship may pose yet another appealing option for utilizing their talents — enhancing the financial well-being of these mothers, their families, and the broader economy” (Looze & Desai, 2020). Over ten years ago, Eleni opened “Eleni’s Kitchen” out of necessity to provide healthy Ethiopian meals to her family and, in turn to the public. 

Now, Eleni’s products are found on her store online, all Market of Choice Stores, and other retail grocers on the west coast. Her products include online cooking classes, catering services, spices, sauces, gift boxes, and gift cards. Ethiopian food is sauce-based and includes many variations of stews. One of the main ingredients is Berbere, a spice blend that is labor-intensive in its original creation. Eleni says it can take up to three days to gather the herbs and spices, clean, dry, and griddle this blend. It should be medium spice; the idea is to taste the flavor of all the ingredients that go into making Berbere. She has a blog dedicated to this topic and other Ethiopian recipes.

It was with these Ethiopian sauces that Eleni launched her business. She began to sell them at local Farmers’ Markets in Oregon. During the pandemic, she created her virtual Ethiopian cooking classes. This past January, Eleni graduated from Ascend Portland, managed by  by Livelihood NW. Eleni says about her experience, “It was very helpful to be around similar people in the same situation and get guidance from the advisors. There was much practical content, so I launched my injera during that time. And they had a program where they connect you with buyers of different stores. I was able to get in stores through that connection!” It is with patience, as the making of Berbere or even longer-term in raising a child, that Eleni strategically places and manages her business.