Seven-year-old Abdullahi Shongolo fled the Somali civil war in 1992, walking through dense African jungle for two weeks. He encountered hyenas, lions and violent militias before reaching a Kenyan refugee camp.
During the twelve years he and his nine siblings lived in the camp, he learned enough English to plead his family’s case to become refugees eligible to resettle in the United States.
Shongolo and his family arrived in Denver in 2004.
Twenty years later, Shongolo runs the register at the international grocery store he owns in Denver, blocks away from the dwelling where he and his family first got their start in America. Global Grocery Mart, 1133 Yosemite St., not only provides a taste of home for immigrants searching for region-specific goods but also acts as an invaluable resource for newcomers to the country.
In a world that can feel hostile to immigrants — especially in a place like nearby Aurora, where the incoming president has threatened mass deportations — Global Grocery Mart is a safe haven where friendly faces are waiting to welcome patrons.
“I am proud of being here for the community,” Shongolo said. “When they first come to this country and don’t have a place to go, at least they can feel at ease here.”
Shongolo remembers the strangeness and hardships that accompanied moving to a new country.
That’s why in between ringing up transactions, he often translates immigration paperwork. He once helped a customer fill out documents that led to them securing Section 8 housing. When an uninsured customer complained about back pain, he referred them to Denver Health, which does not turn away uninsured patients.
Global Grocery Mart is packed with colorful commodities from around the world. Boxes of fufu mix — a West African staple — sit near bottles of Hidden Valley Ranch dressing. Beverages from Thailand, Pakistan and the Caribbean are stocked next to SunnyD. Sara Lee bread is perched above tubs of Somali cookies.
Behind the counter, Shongolo carries multicultural beauty and hygiene products.
He sources goods from all over, asking what kinds of ingredients people from different cultures prefer. He carries flour from Nepal and India, halal products, an abundance of coffees, noodles that will satisfy a multitude of palettes, fresh goat meat and rare sweets.
He also supports local ethnic businesses, stocking his store with Ethiopian bread from a nearby immigrant-owned bakery and other local products.
“There are things here you can’t find at Walmart or King Soopers,” Shongolo said.
“It’s like family here”
Mariama Barrie walked in the store on a Tuesday in December, all smiles and jokes with Shongolo, who knows three Somali languages as well as Swahili, English, and some French and Spanish.
Barrie’s grocery list that day featured kalaba clay, which she described as an African remedy for stomach upset. Barrie, who’s from Sierra Leone, came to Denver 10 years ago.
“Abdullahi has food for us,” Barrie said. “This is the only place that has everything. Plus, we are always fighting and laughing. It’s like family here.”
Shongolo’s customer base is willing to travel. He sees patrons from Colorado Springs, Greeley, Green Valley Ranch and Fort Morgan.
Families trickled into the store as the sun set, buying dinner supplies. Mothers held babies on their hips. Elders shuffled slowly through the aisles. Men stocked up on cigarettes.
If Shongolo is out of sight assisting a customer, people who spot his empty post at the register when they enter the store call out his name in a sing-song voice, knowing he can’t be far.
They come for the food and the conversation.
When a customer sheepishly admits to being a few dollars short, Shongolo smiles and waves them off, telling them it’s not a problem.
Global Grocery Mart is in Denver, but the Aurora suburbs, known for their diverse immigrant population, are across the street.
Amid Colorado’s unprecedented influx of Venezuelan migrants in the past two years, Shongolo has stocked his store with items beloved in the South American country.
The store is a few blocks from the Edge of Lowry, the troubled Aurora apartment complex that attracted international attention after a video of armed men barging into an apartment went viral in September. During an October rally held in Aurora, President-elect Donald Trump described his mass deportation plan, part of which is named “Operation Aurora.”
During Trump’s first term in office, Shongolo remembers U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers walking the streets in his neighborhood.
His customers tell him they fear what another Trump administration could mean for them.
“People are scared,” Shongolo said. “I’m worried for the community. I’m a citizen, but I hope the people who have come here looking for a better life are not affected.”
Word of mouth broadens community
Ian Ntwali supports refugees who come to Colorado in search of hope, opportunity and rebuilding. He knows how much of a culture shock the transition can be.
Ntwali, a Rwandan immigrant who came to Denver in 2018, didn’t like the chicken he found in American grocery stores when he first arrived. Through word of mouth, Ntwali heard about Global Grocery Mart and was delighted to find that Shongolo stocked the kind of meat he enjoyed — and spoke Swahili, too.
“He’s a very good guy,” Ntwali said.
Ntwali started working at the African Community Center, a Denver nonprofit refugee resettlement agency. To help African refugees get acquainted with their new home, Ntwali frequently accompanies them to Global Grocery Mart to showcase a spot selling familiar foods, along with a kind grocer to add to their new community.
“Even when they don’t have money for groceries, they can come pick up food and pay later,” Ntwali said. “He knows when people haven’t found a job yet, so he tries to be easy on them.”
Shongolo’s hard-earned life experience makes him empathetic to others’ plights.
When Shongolo first came to Denver, he focused on his education, taking English classes and some college courses, eventually earning a medical assistance certificate. He became a translator at UCHealth, working with immigrants and refugees seeking medical care.
Soon, Shongolo had business aspirations.
The convenience store Shongolo and his siblings frequented was up for sale. Shongolo had dreams of expanding the space and turning it into a market that fit the needs of the diverse neighborhood.
He bought the store and expanded it in 2011 with the help of a microloan from CEDS Finance, a nonprofit organization that provides financial help to business owners from disadvantaged racial and ethnic groups, including refugees and immigrants.
Now, when customers tell Shongolo they want to open their own businesses, he refers them back to CEDS.
“It’s like a cycle,” said Shafi Osman, CEDS Finance’s community engagement officer. “We are proud to have played a small part in his journey. We have seen firsthand the impact of these networks.”
Liban Shongolo, Abdullahi’s younger brother, is proud to see his sibling behind the register at the store that used to sell them chips and sodas.
Like most of his siblings, Liban has taken his turn working behind the counter, too. He joked that customers’ faces fell when it was him — and not his brother — holding down the fort.
“He does a great job building relationships in the community,” Liban Shongolo said. “Everybody knows him.”
Abdullahi Shongolo’s dedication to hard work and education inspired Liban Shongolo to follow in his footsteps. The 22-year-old is thriving at Colorado Mesa University, where he plays football and mentors youth. He plans to go to law school when he graduates.
On the December evening, a chorus of different languages flowed throughout Global Grocery Mart as people shopped and visited. As Abdullahi Shongolo bantered while ringing up his customers, laughter transcended all dialects.
When the store was quiet, he leaned against the counter and recounted the harrowing journey that brought him to Denver.
“It feels great to be here,” Shongolo said. “But a lot of our people are still back home suffering. I send money back as much as I can. So, yes, I am proud, but I always remember my people back home.”
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