Suya smoke is now curling up over Canton. Spice Kitchen West African Grill has slipped into the neighborhood on a busy stretch of Boston Street, serving suya-focused plates alongside jollof rice and fried plantains. The whole idea revolves around suya, a groundnut-based spice blend that the kitchen dusts over grilled chicken, steak, shrimp, salmon and lamb, with the goal of turning those flavors into everyday cravings instead of special-occasion experiments. Owner Olumide Shokunbi frames the Canton shop as the latest step in a six-year climb from a D.C. ghost kitchen to a food truck and a growing lineup of brick-and-mortar spots around the DMV.
General Manager Marcus Bryan calls suya "a very, very popular street food in West Africa, Nigeria specifically," and the menu at Spice Kitchen doubles down on that claim with chicken, steak, shrimp, salmon and lamb-chop suya, all backed up by sides like jollof rice and rice-and-stew. The setup is intentionally casual: instead of white tablecloths, guests get a counter-service system designed to make first-timers feel comfortable asking questions. According to CBS Baltimore, the Canton outpost opened at the end of 2025 as part of Spice Kitchen’s steady expansion.
From ghost kitchen to a counter-service model
Shokunbi first launched Spice Kitchen during the pandemic as a delivery-only ghost kitchen, testing out whether suya and jollof could work in a fast-casual format. Since then, he has tried to "Chipotle-fy" Nigerian food, packaging bold West African flavors in customizable bowls and platters that feel familiar to anyone used to assembly-line ordering. Tim Carman’s review in The Washington Post charted that evolution, highlighting Shokunbi’s background running a Chipotle and his explicit mission to normalize West African cooking in a counter-service setting.
Why suya is catching on in the DMV
Local food writers and restaurant trackers say suya is having a moment along Route 1 and beyond, as food halls, food trucks and new restaurants sprinkle the peanut-forward spice blend across more and more menus. Hyattsville Wire credits Spice Kitchen’s march from Brookland and MiXt Food Hall into a Hyattsville storefront and later Baltimore pop-ups with helping nudge suya into the mainstream. That momentum now shows up in pop-up rosters and food-hall lineups across the region. Hyattsville Wire
Shokunbi says the business has been growing over six years and that he wants to take Spice Kitchen into other states, a goal that has popped up in local coverage. The Canton restaurant fills the former RegionAle space, according to The Baltimore Banner, joining the Hyattsville and Bowie locations that helped cement the brand’s following. CBS Baltimore notes that Shokunbi ultimately wants West African food to sit right next to familiar fast-casual choices across the country.
Menus, hours and pop-up dates live on the restaurant’s ordering page, which also carries the food truck schedule plus separate Hyattsville and Baltimore menus. For up-to-date hours and a look at which proteins are on deck any given day, check the restaurant’s official ordering and Toast pages. Spice Kitchen
