PHOTO PROVIDED Maame Badu stands next to shelves at Good Grace African Market and Diner.

Since the Good Grace African Market and Diner opened in 2024, things have changed for Maame Badu, the owner of the business and the creative force behind it.

For one thing, the business has added clothing and accessories, hand made in Ghana plus other handmade items from other countries in Africa.

“We have beads from Senegal, all West African beads from Kenya, West Indies Africa,” Badu said.

“We have all these things that we added, kind of like a lifestyle,” she added.

The authentic African articles blend well with the authentic African cuisine offered at the market and restaurant located at 909 Arch St. in Newberry.

“I think every home has the way they cook their own meals, but these are authentic recipes passed down from generation to generation-my grandmother,” she said.

“I wanted this place to be not just for food, but for a little bit of the African culture-what we wear, what we eat, a little bit of lifestyle accessories and stuff,” she explained.

Badu, who is a native of Ghana, made a visit there in 2024, in order to source the items she sells at her business.

“We went out, saw the fabric, created styles and we got the people to make them,” she said.

Her menu has also expanded to include some new things in addition to the regulars-the oxtails, goat meat, chichen, sea bass and red snapper. They currently offer Maryland Blue Crabs in addition to the favorites like beans and rice and cabbage and okra stew.

She also creates desserts to go.

“We do a lot more takeout, but once in a while we do dine-ins and you can just sit and enjoy your meals. But mostly it’s been takeouts and catering orders,” Badu said.

She noted that they have catered types of parties as well as private dinner parties with four or five people.

Badu is also eager to share the culture of the various countries in Africa. One wall in the business is dedicated to maps of the various countries which make up the continent of Africa and she crafts her menus to highlight different foods from each area.

“We take a meal from one of the countries in Africa and we’ll make it for the whole month. It will be like a special from the continent,” she said.

For February, Badu said that the menu might feature a specialty from Cote d’Ivoire, or Ghana, or Togo or Benin, she said, adding that the meals from those countries are very similar.

The business has also given her the opportunity to connect with a lot of people from around the country as well as the local community. Some from as far away as Georgia who were in town working and discovered the restaurant.

“They were so happy. They were posting me all over-come and see, we never thought we’d have an African restaurant of anything like this here,” she said.

Since the birth of her daughter last year, Badu has cut back on her business hours and now is open from noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.