Zema Market Brings Ethiopian Products To Richmond Highway

MOUNT VERNON, VA — Zema Market, an authentic Ethiopian convenience store, celebrated its grand opening over the weekend in the Woodlawn area.

The convenience store is located at 8714 Richmond Highway, Alexandria. The business, named for the owners' daughter Zema, is owned by Tesfaye Gebremichael, Genet Tesfaye, Dawit Gebremedhin and Meron Tesfaye.

While the business opened in 2021, the grand opening was this past Saturday. Over 250 people attended during the grand opening weekend, according to the Mount Vernon Lee Chamber of Commerce. The grand opening was attended by Mount Vernon Lee Chamber of Commerce Vice Chair Kevin McNulty, Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck, Southeast Fairfax Development Corporation board President Mark Viani, and His Grace Abune Fanuel, the Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church's DC area dioceses.

Zema Market specializes in items for the Ethiopian and Eritrean communities. The store carries fresh food and beverages and offers a butcher shop with fresh meat. Aside from food and drinks, customers can find clothing, traditional music instruments, and church materials for Ethiopian Orthodox churches.