American Dream Award Winner
Berekti and Akberet Mengistu
Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant
Montclair, N.J.
Hard work has paid off for Ethiopian-born sisters Berekti and Akberet Mengistu, now in their seventh year of running their successful Mesob restaurant in Montclair, N.J.
The Mengistu family of 10 brothers and sisters witnessed the horror of the Ethiopian Red Terror, a violent political campaign in the 1970s. The Mengistus’ father was arrested during the violence and never returned to the family. Akberet Mengistu took over the family business while attending school part time. Berekti finished school full time and eventually moved to New Jersey, continued her education and received an electrical engineering degree. When her mother died, Akberet moved with her young son to be with Berekti in New Jersey.
Akberet did all the cooking for the family and friends on weekends in their tight-knit Ethiopian community. Berekti, at the time working in another field, realized her true passion lay in feeding friends and family. She decided to open a restaurant with her sister as the chef. To ensure their success, Berekti earned a master’s degree in business administration and studied the restaurant industry. She wrote a business plan and with the help and support of family, opened Mesob in 2003.
The restaurant immediately began giving back to the community, sponsoring race-walks for nonprofits and contributing to community health and wellness events. The sisters have also worked in the soup kitchen in East Brunswick and with their local churches.
“Here in America, I chose what I wanted to do and I’m doing it. That’s the American Dream to me and I am living it,” says Mengistu.
