Niema’s West African & Caribbean Cuisine in Shreveport, Louisiana, is marking its grand-opening weekend October 16–18, with a $49.99 Sunday brunch buffet giving abundance-minded diners their particular reason to head upstairs at the Robinson Film Center.
The restaurant is already operating at 617 Texas Street, in the second-floor space previously known as Abby Singer’s Bistro. Chef Niema DiGrazia and her husband, chef Matthew DiGrazia, are now running the restaurant independently. The October celebration marks that new chapter.
The restaurant-hosted event listing advertises the October 18 brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with the Bayou Classic Alumni Brunch & Trophy Roadshow. Grambling State University and Southern University alumni are invited, along with the public. Shreveport’s Downtown Development Authority also lists the Sunday event at 11 a.m.
The $49.99 listing identifies the meal as a brunch buffet, though it does not publish a dish-by-dish menu. The wider restaurant’s identity is clearer: DiGrazia’s cooking draws on her Sierra Leone heritage, Caribbean influences and the flavors of North Louisiana.
That combination has been developing for years. Her path ran through meals prepared at home, farmers markets and a food truck before the downtown restaurant. Louisiana Cookin’ named her among its Chefs to Watch in 2022, and she has since won on Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay. An impressive résumé, even before the Sunday serving utensils enter the picture.
The Robinson Film Center describes the transition as part of its renewed focus on film programming and education, with DiGrazia taking independent management of the restaurant. Niema’s retains the upstairs dining setting and the public balcony overlooking downtown Shreveport.
The celebration begins Friday, October 16, with a 6 p.m. ribbon cutting and live music by Curtis Mills, followed by AfroBeats After Dark from 9 p.m. to midnight. Saturday’s Caribbean Fiesta runs from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. The Sunday buffet closes out the three-day program.
The Sunday spread is advertised as a special grand-opening event, with no recurring buffet schedule announced. It gives diners a chance to mark the restaurant’s transition over brunch, in a dining room where a chef’s West African and Caribbean influences have become the name above the door.
