 Cinnamon bark, cardamom pods, and cumin seeds are three of the essential ingredients in Somali cuisine, served at Tawakal Halal Cafe in East Boston. Since 2018, owner Yaya Noor, with the help of his family, has wanted to bring the flavors of Somalia to Boston. If you look at our menu, there's a lot of similarities of Indian food. So within that, we basically took the spices and made it on our own dishes. Which, you know, those spices we call it hawaji in Somali. The food itself is a fusion of all cultures. Some customers in the area continue to value supporting the local restaurant. First of all, I really like that there's this variety from all these different cultures, so it's great to explore that. Yeah, it's always exciting to try new things. Still, Noor says that the state of Massachusetts could do more to support black-owned family restaurants. Instead of just a handout for money, I think the importance of, you know, having people that know the business, how they could actually help us succeed is very crucial for us, and I think that's what we need. Noor also says that the press helps to shine a light on his business. Tawakal Halal Cafe encourages all of its customers to reach out if they know of anyone in need of food in the Boston area. Kiara Smith reporting for BUTV.