A few years ago, Marco Senghor’s roof fell in, literally. At the time, the Senegalese man was the Bay Area’s main supplier of ginger juice, brewing 1,500 bottles a week by himself. “I did nothing but work and drink juice,” he recalls. Months of ginger vapor over Senghor’s stove made his apartment’s ceiling collapse and he was quickly evicted. Senghor moved to a commercial kitchen on 19th St. at Mission and ordered 20,000 bottles, which filled not only the kitchen, but every surface of his new apartment as well. When a tentative deal with Odwalla fell apart, it was too much for Senghor to take. He had a nervous breakdown, flew to his mother’s home in Paris and was eventually hospitalized.

After a six month sabbatical, Senghor returned to San Francisco and decided he was done with the juicing industry. So, he decorated his commercial kitchen with furniture from his own apartment and turned it into a small bar/restaurant. With support from the community, it became an immediate success. “Everybody knew me because I was the guy who just collapsed,” he said. “Then, boom! The place started to explode.”

That community spirit only strengthened when Senghor learned that, if he raised $30,000 over one weekend, he could buy a larger space around the corner on Mission St. He fired off an email to 3,000 people asking if they could contribute. A few hours later, he had $37,000 in donations. Senghor can think of only one explanation for the outpouring of support: “The gods decided okay, Marco, take a seat and we’ll take care of it for you.” He named the restaurant Bissap Baobab, after a common West African tree whose widespread leafy branches make it the perfect spot for people to gather under in the tropical heat. Given the history of Bissap Baobab’s creation, it’s no accident that there’s a very clear sense of hominess at both of Senghor’s restaurants (Senghor still owns his first place, now called Little Baobab, on 19th St., but he gave culinary control to friends from the West Indies who turned it into a Creole restaurant).

Bissap Baobab may be the only restaurant in the city whose happy hour special – a large dish brimming with meat and rice intended to be shared by four or more people for only $4 a person – was created to make people think communally. “When you start eating, you develop the ethic of sharing. All those rules you develop in the meal you take with you,” said Senghor. “I’d love to say, ‘Mr. Bush, come in and sit down and share.’ Maybe it would change a lot of stuff.”

Bissap Baobab’s thatched ceiling and walls – adorned with peacock feathers and palm fronds – give diners a small sense of Senghor’s home. But distinctly American touches, like chili pepper Christmas lights and a jigsaw puzzle of Africa, reflect Senghor’s affection for the aesthetics of his adopted country as well. The idea of combining Senegalese traditions with American tastes is also evident in the restaurant’s short but substantial menu. Fried plantains in a tamarind sauce and Tchou Djen, grilled sole in a spiced tomato onion stew served over rice, are items an actual Senegalese person might have for dinner. But options like the Salad Dakaroise, a romaine-based dish with tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms, avocado, corn, grapefruit and house vinaigrette, Senghor admits, were invented for his largely American clientele. “Nowadays it’s very difficult to have something typically traditional,” Senghor said, adding that Americans want a lot more greens and tofu on their menus than his countrymen and he’s happy to oblige.

But one of the biggest draws to San Francisco’s coolest two-year-old Senegalese restaurant is the unique drink menu. Made with ginger, tamarind and hibiscus juices, the elixirs that began drawing crowds when Bissap Baobab first opened were a gift of sorts from one of Senghor’s bartender friends. She knew that mixing rum or vodka into the juices that had driven Senghor to the edge would be a big draw for Mission hipsters searching for something exotic.

It may sound like Senghor has received a surprising amount of help from his friends to create the successful restaurant he has today. And while Senghor says he does feel lucky, his upbringing in a place where communal living is second nature has made him feel like people helping each other out is the rule, not the exception. “This is the way we treat people in Senegal,” said Senghor. “Hospitality is very important there. You can go today with no money and people will take care of you. You won’t go hungry.”

Bissap Baobab is located at
2323 Mission St., San Francisco.
It is open for dinner Tuesdays through Sundays, 6pm to 10 pm.
For more information, call (415) 826-9287.