Family Recipes, Cooked From Scratch Since 2011
Sleshi and Fikera Tadesse brought the flavors of Ethiopia to Salt Lake City — starting with a small African market and building Utah's first Ethiopian restaurant one fresh injera at a time.
Mahider Ethiopian Restaurant & Market | Our Story
From Ethiopia to Salt Lake
Sleshi Tadesse arrived in Utah from Ethiopia in 1997; his wife Fikera joined him in 2002. The flavors of home — slow-simmered wots, tangy injera, the warmth of a shared meal — were nowhere to be found in Salt Lake City.
The Market and the Injera
In 2008, they opened a small African market on State Street stocking traditional spices, fabrics, and homemade injera (in-JEH-rah) — the spongy teff flatbread at the heart of Ethiopian cooking. Customers kept coming back for the injera until the answer became obvious.
No Shortcuts, Ever
When the market became Utah's first Ethiopian restaurant in 2011, Sleshi and Fikera made a commitment: every wot (stew) built from scratch, beef sourced locally, ayib (fresh cheese) made in-house, and fresh injera prepared every morning before the doors open.
A Table for Everyone
Hand-painted murals line the walls, generous platters arrive on injera, and meals are meant to be shared — a tradition called gursha, where you offer a bite to the person beside you. Whether it's your first taste of Ethiopian food or a comfort from far away, there's a seat here for you.
