Black Wal Street Cafe bringing ‘new flavor’ to Chico
Wal William Riek is bringing the flavor to Chico.
Riek is opening up a soul food fusion restaurant kiosk in the parking lot of the Nord Avenue Safeway shopping complex sometime in April. He is calling it Black Wal Street Cafe, which is the name of the business he already runs for pick-up meal orders.
Before opening up, Riek worked at Broadway’s Kitchen and Bar. He also has cooked and catered for parties, and decided to expand. Originally from San Diego, Riek graduated with a degree in psychology from Chico State in 2020 and never left.
His good friend Terren Pouncy, whom he met in college, is joining Riek as manager of the restaurant. Riek will have just Pouncy helping him out for now, but eventually he will hire an employee to work in the front.
Gnarly Deli owner Nick Stiles helped get Riek off
the ground. He told Riek about the empty kiosk in the parking lot. Riek immediately called his real estate agent, and the space was his.
“Nick is a great mentor,” Riek said.
Riek will install equipment for cooking and paint the exterior and install
tables outside. He plans to paint the kiosk with black and green paint and switch the colored lights from blue to green.
He has some fancy recipes and some stuff he put together from the internet. One of his best-known dishes are the Rafiki fries, which are loaded fries
with chicken, chipotle mayo, ranch dressing and bacon. Another favorite dish is red beans and rice with catfish.
He also plans to have a suggestion box for customers to write suggestions on.
“I want to cater to everyone,” Riek said. He
plans to have vegetarian options.
Riek worked in Magalia for awhile as a counselor, but it was hard to go back and forth. He believes bringing a new kind of food to Chico will expand the town’s options.
“It’s important for Chico to find something different, and it’s an opportunity for kids to come here. It will fill that void and bring new flavor to the scene,” Riek said.
The phone number for the restaurant will be
(530) 935-6024. The restaurant will be located at 1008 W. Sacramento Ave. Riek can be found on Facebook under Black Wal Street Cafe and on Instagram under @blackwalstreetcafe. He plans to be open late on weekends, till 3 a.m., and open till 11 p.m. during the week.