Iowa International Grocery: Where You Can Find Spicy Banana Chips and Maybe Even Love

At a small grocery store in Thunder Ridge Mall, you can find salted duck eggs, jars of kimchi, boxed curries and daals, spicy banana chips and a beverage made from aloe vera.

You might also be able to find love.

Afi Koudadje, a native of Togo who moved to the United States in 2004, opened Iowa International Grocery at 2302 W. First St., Suite #1, a few months ago. The store carries food from around the world - Middle Eastern, Indian, African, Burmese, Korean, Japanese, Chinese and Turkish brands, among others, crowd its shelves.

Koudadje's customers range from curious Cedar Falls residents looking to try something new to local members of the international community grateful for a taste of home.

"If people bring in samples of what they're missing from their country, I try to find a way to help them," Koudadje said.

She said the store has also served as a meeting place of sorts for some members of the international community.

"Once international students arrive, one of the first things they look for is their foods," she said. "While they're looking, they also find each other."

She said she even set one couple up on a date. A customer told her she wanted to find a man from her own country, and Koudadje was able to connect her to another customer.

So far, she said she hasn't heard if the relationship worked out.

Koudadje already owned a similar store, International Ethnic Foods, at 822 LaPorte Road in Waterloo. She decided to open the Cedar Falls location to be closer to international students and staff at the University of Northern Iowa, which she said form a strong customer base.

One of those customers, Amu Iwer, came in recently looking for Indian vegetables like methi, karela and bottle gourd.

"Before, we couldn't get those fresh Indian vegetables anywhere close," she said. "I used to have to go to Chicago or at least Des Moines to find them."

Koudadje said she aims to get a fresh shipment of produce in from Chicago each Tuesday.

Koudadje, who speaks French and Ewe as well as English, said she didn't speak a sentence of English when she and her husband arrived in America almost ten years ago. She studied at Des Moines Area Community College before moving to Cedar Falls in 2009. She was continuing her studies at UNI to become an accounting para-professional, but has put them on hold to focus on her business.

Though she said she's often homesick, she's also happy with the life she and her family - she has three children, ages 5, 4 and 6 months - have created here.

"I love this county because they give us lots of opportunities," she said. "I couldn't imagine that I could have been successful in business, but days are passing, and I'm learning every day."

What you need to know:

Iowa International Grocery - 

Owner: Afi Koudadje

Location: 2302 W. First St., Suite #1, in Thunder Ridge Mall

Hours: Mon. to Fri. 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., Sat. 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Phone: 319-277-7649