From Randallstown to Little Ethiopia to Alexandria, here is where the region actually shops for African ingredients
DMV African grocery stores rarely get the attention restaurant lists do, but they are where the actual cooking starts, and the region has far more of them than most people realize. Maryland and Virginia both rank among the top two states in the country for Ethiopian population, according to Census Bureau data compiled by World Population Review, and that concentration alone has built an entire retail ecosystem most non-African DMV residents never notice. This guide moves county by county across Maryland, Washington and Virginia, built around real, currently operating markets rather than a generic top-ten list.
These stores do more than sell food. Many double as money transfer points, bill pay services, and informal community hubs where a new arrival can find both dinner ingredients and a job lead in the same visit. That dual function shows up again and again across the DMV African grocery stores listed below, and it says something about how these businesses fit into the broader diaspora economy AfroDMV covers regularly, from entrepreneurship to workforce stories, including the network of organizations helping African entrepreneurs in the DMV access capital that many of these same shop owners have relied on to get started.
Maryland’s DMV African grocery stores: from Randallstown to Germantown
Baltimore County’s Liberty Road corridor in Randallstown has become a real cluster point. Randallstown African International Food Market, at 5316 Old Court Road, stocks fresh meats, dried goods and staples like palm oil, and shoppers frequently point to the owner’s hands-on approach to customer service. A few blocks over on Liberty Road, Euraph African and Caribbean Food Market and Esteban African Grocery Store round out the strip, both family-run operations covering West African and Caribbean staples, with Heritage International Food Market further down the same road.
Anne Arundel County’s answer sits in Odenton, and it runs deeper than a single store. Odenton African Food and International Market, at 1692C Annapolis Road, functions as a one-stop shop for West African groceries plus money transfer and bill pay services. The same commercial corridor carries Asarco International Food Store, Afrik International Food Market, Abuja International Food Store and Super Best, giving Anne Arundel shoppers several options within a short drive of each other.
Montgomery County carries the most depth of any Maryland jurisdiction among the region’s DMV African grocery stores. In Germantown, Naanfe International Market on Clopper Road and African International Market on Wisteria Drive both cover African and Caribbean staples, from goat meat to smoked turkey to plantain, with African International Market running a second location in Gaithersburg. The same area holds A Taste of Africa, Gulele Ethiopian Market, Savanna International Market and H2 African International Market, a cluster dense enough that Germantown functions as something close to Montgomery County’s own small Little Ethiopia. Silver Spring adds Dashen Ethiopian Grocery and Dessie Ethiopian Market, serving the county’s large Ethiopian population directly, while Wheaton contributes Ethiopia Plus Market on Georgia Avenue.
Washington’s DMV African grocery stores: Little Ethiopia and beyond
No DMV grocery guide can skip the corridor along 9th and U Streets NW in Shaw, known informally as Little Ethiopia. Habesha Market and Carry-Out, at 1919 9th Street NW, opened as a restaurant in 2005 and has since built out a full grocery side, importing spice blends like berbere mixed according to family recipes, according to manager Yared Mamo. The surrounding blocks have historically held dozens of Ethiopian-owned shops and restaurants clustered together, a concentration CNN’s 2010 reporting on the neighborhood attributed partly to a pattern where one successful business tends to inspire several more nearby.
The scale behind that corridor is worth stating plainly. Washington is widely described as the largest Ethiopian community outside Ethiopia itself, and the District holds the highest concentration of Ethiopian residents by population share of any jurisdiction in the country, according to Census data compiled by World Population Review. Estimates of the actual population size vary widely, from federal counts in the tens of thousands to community leader estimates well above 100,000, a gap that itself reflects how undercounted immigrant communities can be in official data.
Beyond Shaw, DC carries markets further north along Georgia Avenue, including Enat Ethiopia International Market and Deli and Ethiopia Restaurant and Mart, both serving Ethiopian shoppers outside the immediate Little Ethiopia footprint. Mount Rainier, just across the DC-Maryland line, adds Habesha International Market on Varnum Street, close enough to the District that many DC shoppers treat it as part of the same shopping trip.
Virginia’s DMV African grocery stores: Alexandria to Woodbridge
Northern Virginia’s African grocery scene spreads across several jurisdictions, and it is not just an Ethiopian story here, it leans more West African than DC or Maryland. In Alexandria, African Grocery and Meat Market on Little River Turnpike focuses on fresh African meat alongside grocery staples, while Weyone International and Makola Market serve the same city with a heavier West African, particularly Ghanaian, product mix. Dire Ethiopian Market and Cafe rounds out Alexandria’s Ethiopian options, and the diaspora entrepreneurship story behind shops like these echoes what AfroDMV found reporting on 10 things you did not know about DMV’s Nigerian diaspora, where retail and grocery ownership consistently show up as an early economic foothold.
Prince William County carries some of the region’s biggest footprints. Kumasi Supermarket operates locations in both Woodbridge and Fredericksburg, a well-known stop for West African goods, alongside Tema African and Caribbean Market in nearby Dumfries and Africa Supermarket in Manassas. Arlington adds El Latino African Market on Columbia Pike, while Fairfax and Falls Church carry additional Ethiopian and West African options serving the broader Springfield and Falls Church commuter belt, including Tenadam International Market on Mason Drive.
Taken together, these three states show why a single DMV African grocery stores list could never fairly represent the region. The spread runs from Ethiopian-dominant clusters in DC and Silver Spring to the heavier West African footprint of Northern Virginia, with Maryland’s Baltimore County and Montgomery County corridors sitting somewhere in between.
FAQ
Which DMV county has the most African grocery stores?
Montgomery County and Northern Virginia’s Fairfax and Prince William counties carry some of the highest concentrations, largely tracking the region’s Ethiopian and West African population centers.
What is Little Ethiopia?
It’s the informal name for the cluster of Ethiopian-owned businesses along 9th and U Streets NW in DC’s Shaw neighborhood, where Ethiopian immigrants who first settled in Adams Morgan in the 1970s later relocated as rents rose.
Do these markets only carry Ethiopian and West African products?
No. Coverage varies by store. Many carry a mix of African and Caribbean products, and some specialize specifically in Ethiopian, Ghanaian, Nigerian or broader West African goods, so it’s worth calling ahead if you need a specific regional ingredient.t African population centers.
What is Little Ethiopia?
It’s the informal name for the cluster of Ethiopian-owned businesses along 9th and U Streets NW in DC’s Shaw neighborhood, where Ethiopian immigrants who first settled in Adams Morgan in the 1970s later relocated as rents rose.
Do these markets only carry Ethiopian and West African products?
No. Coverage varies by store. Many carry a mix of African and Caribbean products, and some specialize specifically in Ethiopian, Ghanaian, Nigerian or broader West African goods, so it’s worth calling ahead if you need a specific regional ingredient.