Seward Market
Faysal Warfa and Jamaal Haasan at the Seward Market.
Seward Market is one of four general grocery stores along the Avenue specializing in products for East African cuisine. For five years, Seward Market has been providing meat, injera and general grocery items to the community. The store is constantly stocked with a diverse selection of inventory to meet everyone’s needs. And it seems that those needs are being met. The bell on the front door rings rhythmically
as customers enter and exit continually throughout the day. With their close proximity to the heart of Seward, including the Seward Towers West, 25th and Franklin is a great location for them.
With so many general grocery stores in the area, though, competition is tough. Faysal Warfa, the market’s current owner, is up to the challange. Faysal purchased Seward Market in July of 2007 after having lived in the country for only 11 years. He is originally from Somalia, but came to the United States via Kenya in 1996 and is now a resident in the Seward neighborhood. “There is a lot of competition in this area,” Faysal said, “but it doesn’t seem to affect us [negatively]. Business is good.” Faysal runs his store with the help of Jamal Hassan, the manager, and one other employee.
In light of Seward Market’s success, Faysal is planning new façade improvements for the building. He is hoping to install an awning and a new sign. He would also like to paint the entire building and add better lighting. to the sign and the area around the front of the store. These improvements will hopefully expand Seward Market’s visibilty on Franklin Avenue and attact new customers that had not noticed the store before.