East Village Cafe Is Serving Up A Taste of Home to Migrants
Burger Day at Cafe Wal, a kitchen and day-time warming shelter serves 300 free hot meals every day.
Diamy is the Operations Manager at Cafe Wal but he first discovered it as a guest. After arriving in New York from Guinea, West Africa last winter, he struggled to find a warm place to rest during the day. That is – until a friend told him about Cafe Wal, a place where he could eat, sleep, and find community.
“Since we met the guys at Cafe Wal, EVNYC, and EVLOVE, it’s like family. In the beginning we missed our country, but since we are with them? No, no way,” said Diamy.
We are only using first names for the migrants we spoke to out of their fear of retribution.
Cafe Wal means cafeteria in Fulani, a language spoken in West and Central Africa, and primarily serves single adults who have recently migrated from these regions to New York.
Now, Diamy makes sure everyone feels as welcomed as he did and greets every new person he sees.
“Every time I see a new face,” Diamy said, “I come to them, I come to them and say oh hi, welcome to Cafe Wal!”
Cafe Wal was created as a space not only to serve food, but also to help recent migrants navigate the asylum system and seek permanent work through their restaurant training program.
Tyler Hefferon is the Executive Director at Café Wal. “About a dozen asylum seekers will join us 5 days a week for 8 weeks total as part of our restaurant training program in hopes to give them the skills they need to get their first jobs in New York City,” he said.
Since launching six months ago, their program has already helped thirty recent migrants find a paid restaurant training role.
Cafe Wal has served over 20,000 free meals and created a home away from home for new migrants. Meanwhile their kitchen is growing a great reputation amongst the community.
Ibrahima, a volunteer at Café Wal said, “something I like about Cafe Wal … they have the best cooking. Every person comes here and says, ‘wow this is the best food.’”
Cafe Wal’s community has become especially important now, amidst President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“That’s why all the guys, they feel safe here, they feel safe at Cafe Wal,” Diamy said.
Rana is a reporter from Arizona covering climate change and immigration for City Newsroom. She previously lived in San Francisco and started her journalism career covering issues intersecting food, politics, and culture.