After two and a half years, 25,000 meals and countless plates of West African egusi and fufu, Adjo Honsou has opened a brick-and-mortar location of Fufu n’ Sauce at 8100 Page Ave. in North County. What began as intimate “Fufu Fridays” in her home kitchen, and later rolled through the streets as a food truck favorite, has evolved into celebration of heritage where the menu is only half the story.
“Fufu n’ Sauce started as a love letter to my roots,” Honsou shared. Her approach to food was shaped in a rural Togolese village, where meals came from open flames, recipes lived in memory and neighbors cooked as one. Her signature plates – like egusi and bold, unapologetic curry sauce – are layered with flavor and memory. “Every pot carries history,” she said, “mine, my mother’s, and every woman who stirred before us.”
The decision to open a permanent location came when it became clear that her food had outgrown the truck and so had the community around it. “We needed a space, not just a counter,” Honsou explained. “A place where people could come to gather, to learn, to belong.”
Intentionality runs through every corner of the new space. From the selection of its north St. Louis location, an underserved neighborhood often passed over for investment, to infusing the interior with color and life, Fufu n Sauce stands as an act of reclamation. “This building had bones. We poured in the heart,” Honsou shared.
You’ll still find the same soulful menu, but the new space aims higher, hosting cooking workshops, cultural celebrations, storytelling and local chef collaborations. For Honsou, food is just the starting point for something deeper.
That mission, to close food and wealth gaps, shift perceptions of African food and build community has already earned national attention. After winning The Great American Recipe on PBS, Honsou’s story reached new audiences, but her message remains local: “My real mission is legacy,” she said. “When you lead with heart and culture, people respond.”
Fufu n’ Sauce is now open and if the early buzz is any sign, the #fufuhouse is already becoming a landmark. In Adjo Honsou’s words: “Same heart, bigger hug.”
This article appears in Sauce Magazine // August 2025.