Ready for your fufu fix? Lexington’s popular West African restaurant is ready to reopen
Sav’s Restaurant is getting ready to reopen in its new location Dec. 8 on East Main Street. And owner Mamadou “Sav” Savane is nervous.
After years of building a following at his old location on South Limestone, which he closed in June, Savane is excited about the new spot.
“I’m very happy. It’s in my neighborhood,” he said, noting he can walk to work in 10 minutes now. That will come in handy since the new place will be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
The restaurant will continue to serve the healthy and flavorful West African cuisine, including fufu (a dough staple made from cassava and green plantain flour), that he grew up on in Guinea.
The menu will expand a bit, adding grilled tilapia filet, beef kabab and, on Saturday, baby back ribs.
He also plans to introduce new specials that he researched on a trip in July with daughter Diaka Grace.
“We came home with a lot of possibilities,” Savane said. “I always tell people, if you want good food in Africa, go to West Africa.”
The region is lush and fertile, which gives the people who live there many different options for fresh fruits and vegetables, he said. “And people eat health.”
One thing he isn’t too worried about: Customers coming back. As he’s been working on the building at 630 East Main St. over the past few months, people have asked over and over, “When are you opening?”
In fact, last week three ladies separately came in to ask if the restaurant was open because the lights were on.
Savane said he is planning on having a grand opening celebration in March.
He opened his original restaurant on South Limestone, next to the UK Samaritan Hospital, to serve his native West African cuisine to Kentuckians and quickly found a following for fufu, cassava and even goat.
But his peanut sauce caused his biggest setback: In June 2014, while he was stirring a giant pot of the sauce, he spilled boiling liquid all over his body, causing second-degree burns and putting him in intensive care for five days while his wife, Rachel, and three children watched anxiously.
Friends and fans rallied around, raising more than $50,000 to offset medical and other expenses. And he reopened the restaurant soon after.
But after almost 11 years at the South Limestone location, the all-new restaurant will open with an all-new staff, some of whom he has yet to hire.
Savane is working with the Kentucky Refugee Ministries to find cooks and other workers. He’s lined up two women who came to Kentucky from Congo to help in the kitchen but there is a bit of language barrier.
“I want to help out but most of those people don’t speak English. Some speak French, which I spoke where I’m from, but most speak Swahili,” Savane said. But he’s found a woman who speaks all three. “I just have to show them how I want them to cook. I want to extend to help those people.”
And he’s found a Nigerian immigrant who is interested in taking over Sav’s Chill, the ice cream store on South Limestone. The store eventually will change names but will use recipes Savane and his son, Bangaly, developed and will continue to supply Sav’s with ice cream.
The new restaurant on East Main is in a building that most recently was a Subway sandwich shop but was built in the 1940s as a Gulf gas station.
As he renovated the building, Savane discovered the original door and window framing, much of which he has preserved. Eventually he hopes to open up more walls.
He also added garage doors that will open in warmer weather and he will have seating outside as well.
The exterior has murals by Lexington graffiti artist Dani Greene that depict colorful African cloths, while inside Savane has his collection of African art. He also plans to have a case highlighting his wife Rachel’s handmade jewelry.
Sav’s Restaurant and Gourmet Ice Cream
Where: 630 East Main St.
Opens: Dec. 8
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (kitchen closes at 9 p.m.), seven days a week
Parking: Street parking available
Credit cards: Major ones accepted
This story was originally published November 25, 2019 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Ready for your fufu fix? Lexington’s popular West African restaurant is ready to reopen."
