Entrepreneur Fola Jinadu, former immigration lawyer and Lt. Commander in the United States Merchant Marines wanted “to do something that made me happy”

Suya Spot, a Nigerian-inspired fast-casual restaurant concept, has opened within Metro Centre at Owings Mills, representing the second location for owner Fola Jinadu. In late 2015, upon returning from overseas during a tour with the Merchant Marines, Jinadu opened his first Suya Spot in the Randallstown area. Metro Centre at Owings Mills is a Transit-Oriented Development that is a project of David S. Brown Enterprises, LLC.

“The philosophy of the restaurant is ‘eat, sit and connect’ and that is apparent when you observe the consumers at Suya Spot interacting, having fun and enjoying the cuisine of their native African-American heritage,” explained Jinadu. “The experience is quite different from any other restaurant concept as evidenced by the large group of people that are eating the food they crave, as well as completely being immersed with the other patrons.”

The Suya Spot menu emphasizes food items accented with yagi spice, which is an organic product that is exported directly from Nigeria. “It is our secret sauce if you will, and creates a completely unique flavoring when applied to our variety of grilled items,” Jinadu explained. The Suya menu items include grilled beef and lamb, chicken, shrimp, fish, Asun (goat), Nkwobi (cow foot) and snail, as well as catfish pepper soup and assorted meat pepper soup. A number of side dishes are also available including Moimoi, which is Nigerian-steamed bean pudding.

Jinadu spent his first career as an immigration lawyer and, later, served as a Lt. Commander in the United States Merchant Marines. He described these experiences as “far from fulfilling and actually took a damaging emotional toll.” Looking to do something that made him happy, he turned to his Nigerian roots and had an epiphany when he observed a restaurant in his native country serving Suya-style cuisine.

“This new location is an upgrade from our Randallstown restaurant to achieve an environment that will encourage patrons to linger at Metro Centre,” Jinadu explained. “We were attracted to the project because it is pleasing to the eye, is extremely well-designed and situated in a section of Baltimore County that attracts many different audiences, including businesspeople and local residents. Best of all, Metro Centre helps accomplish my goal, which is to operate a location that people will look forward to going to. And they will have fun, relax and enjoy everyone’s company.”

Metro Centre at Owings Mills is designed to support more than 1.2 million square feet of Class “A” office space; 200,000 square feet of complementary retail space; 1700 residential units; educational facilities totaling 120,000 square feet and a hotel offering 250 rooms.

More than 140,000 vehicles pass Metro Centre each day from Interstate 795. In addition, more than 5,000 commuters board the Owings Mills Metro stop each workday and approximately one million people exit the station on an annual basis. More than 30,000 consumers utilize the library and community college per month. The downtown business district and Baltimore City amenities, such as M&T Bank Stadium and Oriole Park Camden Yards can be accessed in approximately 20 minutes from the project.

David S. Brown Enterprises, LTD., founded in 1933 and headquartered in Owings Mills, MD, is a full-service real estate company providing leasing, sales and management services. For additional information, visit www.davidsbrown.com