Ekiben, an Asian fusion restaurant based in Baltimore, plans to open its first restaurant in Frederick.
The new eatery will be located at 500 North Market St., but the owners have not finalized the opening date.
“We’re still in early construction days,” a spokesperson for the restaurant told The Baltimore Sun. “We won’t release an opening date until we’re much closer to finishing the project. We’re excited to share Ekiben with the Frederick community.”
The new Frederick location will be Ekiben’s fourth restaurant in Maryland with the others located in Hampden, Fells Point and South Baltimore. In March, Ekiben announced it will also have a location at Camden Yards during Orioles home games near section 49 all season after making a limited appearance last season as a pop-up stall.
In 2024, Ekiben got an honorable mention award as the best Asian and Korean restaurant in The Baltimore Sun’s Baltimore’s Best Food & Drink winners. It appeared in the Yelp Top 100 restaurants in the U.S. in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Ekiben was founded in 2014 by college friends Ephrem Abebe, Steve Chu, and Nikhil Yesupriya, who later left the restaurant industry in 2019. The group began selling a spin on Asian and Ethiopian cuisine out of a hotdog cart at the Fells Point Farmers Market and the idea evolved into the popular bricks and mortar restaurant.
Chu was named a semifinalist for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic by James Beard Foundation in 2023.
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