Soul food-Ethiopian restaurant coming to Woodfords Corner

A new restaurant blending soul food and Ethiopian cuisine is preparing to welcome its first diners this week in Portland's Woodfords Corner neighborhood.

Culture House is set to begin a soft opening Friday at 683 Forest Ave., the same space that previously housed Merveille, an African restaurant, and before that, Shawarma & Kebab House.

The concept is a personal one for co-owner Martin Beavers, who is Black, and his Ethiopian life and business partner, Esperance Yende. The two set out to create a menu that reflects both of their culinary traditions under one roof.

On the soul food side, diners can expect gluten-free fried chicken, honey jerk chicken, oxtails, barbecue, catfish, fried okra, mac and cheese, collard greens, brown butter beignets filled with banana pudding, and sweet potato pie empanadas.

Weekends will bring a rotating selection of classic Ethiopian dishes, including doro wat, a spicy chicken stew, and sega wat, a beef stew, both served with traditional injera flatbread. The restaurant will also host Ethiopian coffee ceremonies on those days.

Beavers, who previously ran Soul Food Paradise in the Maine Mall food court and got his start at the Fork Food Lab shared commercial kitchen and food business incubator, said gluten-free options will be plentiful throughout the menu.

The 50-seat restaurant plans to remain in soft-opening mode for the next several weeks as the team fine-tunes service and operations before a full launch later this month.

Culture House will be open Thursday through Monday, from noon to 9:30 p.m.