Veronica Alimole and husband Jazz Alimole have brought a new dining experience to the North Shore for Sault and Algoma District residents to enjoy. Veronica hails from Ghana, Jazz from Nigeria. Their grocery store and restaurant named Ije's Place: Cafe & Bakery, situated in Desbarats, serves African and Caribbean food for customers to savour.
Their enterprise is named in honour of Ije (pronounced Eeja), the couple’s daughter. Veronica and Jazz have lived in Canada for many years. They have lived in Sudbury as well as Eastmain, a Cree community in Northern Quebec on the east coast of James Bay before resettling in this region.
In Eastmain, Veronica worked in economic development, Jazz as a contractor. It was Jazz who built Ije's Place. “It was a labour of love for him, and we love our community.
It’s a beautiful area,” Veronica told SooToday . The couple moved to the Algoma District as daughter Ije planned to begin her postsecondary education at Sudbury’s Laurentian University. “We ended up in Desbarats by chance.
It looked pretty to us and that was it,” Veronica said with a chuckle. “The food we serve is of course something you don’t usually find in this area. I have a mixture of Caribbean, African and Canadian food.
We have a good range of food. I have African desserts like doughnuts from West Africa, African bread and Canadian food like poutine. I do poutine Quebec-style because I lived in Quebec.
” Veronica and Jazz opened their grocery store in Desbarat.