Isaac & Comfort Asare migrated from Ashanti-Bekwai, Ghana in the late ’80s to Washington DC, where they set out to start a new life. With them, they brought their customs, language, and traditions but rarely could they find the foods they loved.

Prior to settling in the states, Comfort traveled throughout Ghana, Togo, Liberia, and Cote d’Ivoire trading and selling goods. Isaac worked as a technician but was an entrepreneur in spirit. She had a special skill in sourcing scarce products and he had the gift of vision. In an effort to make ends meet in the new world, the duo resorted to working odd jobs as well as doing the only thing they knew, selling and trading goods out the trunk of their car and in their cramped living room. In 2002, the duo founded Asarco International Food Store, the first African International Store in the Jessup/Laurel/Columbia area.

For the past eighteen years, this family run business has remained a source for the budding African community in Maryland. Bridging the gap between two worlds.

It is our mission here at Asarco International Foods to serve our community and provide them with goods and products they can’t find in the average grocery stores, bringing the taste of home to your home abroad.