Fatima’s Cafe in Worcester is almost the definition of a “hidden gem”: It isn’t the trendy restaurant targeted at the tourist or business traveler crowds. The bulk of its clientele are either locals who know, or African food aficionados who will drive out of their way for an hour or two to hit the modest, almost inconspicuous little restaurant while they’re on their way somewhere else.
But once you start frequenting it, it almost becomes an addiction: Spongy anjero flatbread soaking up one of numerous meat and vegetarian stews made from scratch each morning. Piping hot beef samosas and ridiculously flavorful green chili sauce made from jalapeno. All of it prepared fresh, usually by Fatima Mohamed herself, who owns the restaurant with her husband, Omar Issa.
The couple, who were born in Kenya and moved to Worcester in 2001, opened the restaurant in 2014, despite being told repeatedly by small business experts that it wouldn’t work…