This story begins on 23rd and Cherry. Here, about 15 years ago, Mesob, an Ethiopian restaurant, opened its doors for business. Anyone who lived near this location at that time, the late '90s, saw the grand opening as something of a godsend because there wasn't another restaurant for miles around (or what felt like miles around). That corner, and the Central District as a whole, was still in the shadow of the bleak crack years, but its future was becoming clearer by the day—young white Americans were increasingly moving in, the older black Americans were increasingly moving south, and the value of homes was going up and up. In this twilight—the space between black and white, the end and the beginning—Mesob not only provided the area with a venue that was close, a place you could walk to, but also served food that was prepared by someone who knew how to cook...

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