Above: Netsanet Alemayehu, with her sister Israel, owns
Sheba Piano Lounge in San Francisco’s Lower Fillmore
neighborhood.

San Francisco Chronicle
By Carolyn Alburger
Friday, September 11, 2009

There’s a stack of seven large suitcases in the corner of Netsanet Alemayehu’s San Francisco living room. Some sit empty, dusted with bright remnants of Ethiopian oregano and mitmita, a combination of African bird’s-eye chile and cardamom. Others are so heavy, Alemayehu can barely lift them, full of fresh spices and sauce bases shipped from her family members in Harar, Ethiopia, the town where she was born. Read More.