COMMUNITY PROFILE HIGHLIGHTING AURORA’S WEST AFRICAN CUISINE AT SWEET PEPPER KITCHEN STORY AND PHOTOS BY KHALEIGH REED IF YOU’VE EVER BEEN CURIOUS about African cuisine. Denver’s food scene will have you wanting more. The aroma and hint of spice wafting from Sweet Pepper Kitchen seal the deal. Located off of East 6th Avenue in Aurora, just next to Lagos International Market, Sweet Pepper Kitchen food truck is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, and from 12 to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. With a variety of options such as tomato sauce-smothered chicken, fried tripe, plantains, and Jollof rice, just one plate can satisfy your appetite for the day. Shade Adebayo started Sweet Pepper Kitchen from her home in 2020. Soon after, she began operating out of her food truck. Just ahead of the lunch rush, Adebayo gets ready for a busy day. She makes sure that the meals she prepped in the space of her home are not only ready for the food truck but include her best quality ingredients. In the food truck, Adebayo dips cut-up tripe into the fryer, the oil bubbles and makes what is already a hot summer day just as warm in the food truck. While owning a food truck can be demanding, it’s Adebayo’s drive to serve her community that fuels her passion. “I’m so happy I’m serving my community. Before I [began] my food truck [business], we [didn’t] really have food around us so I feel like I’m happy [to live my] dream [of serving] my authentic Nigerian food because our food is very very organic.” Raised in a Nigerian household, Adebayo and her husband moved to Denver in 1988 to start a family. Since then, not only has her son, Adekunle followed in her footsteps, but the entire family, including a family friend, Bukunmi, helps run the business. During the summer, which is Sweet Pepper Kitchen’s busiest season, there are always family members and friends on-site to help. “I think it’s important to have Nigerian food in Aurora because we want to have a good representation of the food,” said Bukunmi. “We don’t want it to be someone else taking our culture and putting it on display [without showing] the good parts of it.” Currently, Adebayo isn’t looking to move into a bigger place, due to the costs associated with an expansion, but said she hopes she will be able to consider it in the future. Sweet Pepper Kitchen celebrated its five-year anniversary on June 28, commemorating how far the Adebayo family and their business have come. The joy of sharing not only food but also culture is a tradition instilled by the uniting of family. While it began as a dream, it’s grown into a local staple that tells a story and highlights the significance of Nigerian cuisine. For more information on Sweet Pepper Kitchen, visit sweetpepper.kitchen.com THE JOY OF SHARING NOT ONLY FOOD BUT ALSO CULTURE IS A TRADITION INSTILLED BY THE UNITING OF FAMILY. July 2025 DENVER VOICE 9
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